by Travis Bughi
“You think Takeo’s the only one who can beat you?” Gavin responded. “When we get clear of this town, I’m going to show you why a shield makes the best weapon.”
“Krunk thinks weapons make the best weapons.”
“Thank you, Krunk.” Gavin sighed and patted his purple friend on the shoulder.
Nicholas embraced his older brother with a massive hug, and the amazons said their goodbyes to Takeo and offered their condolences for his loss. Adelpha let Krunk tickle the baby and then came forward to extend a hand to Takeo.
“I’ll be honest with you,” she started, “I have never liked you.”
“I never liked me, either,” he replied.
“I’m just now realizing that, and I think it’s starting to change my opinion of you. Thank you for protecting Emily while you could.”
Adelpha paused as if she had planned on saying more, but Takeo thrust out his hand and they shook briefly. A firm nod of respect later and their goodbyes were finished.
Then they all left.
Abraham, William, and the amazons parted west, while Takeo, Gavin, Nicholas, and Krunk parted east, heading for the docks with packs strapped to their backs and weapons at their sides. The few spare coins in their packs wouldn’t buy them passage on a ship, but Takeo wasn’t worried. Perhaps a merchant, pirate, or viking ship would take on a couple of hardened warriors in exchange for a safer journey. Or perhaps Nicholas’ sailing experience would provide sufficient enticement. Nothing in Takeo’s mind spoke of failure, and a ship would bring them to Juatwa by the quickest route.
“Listen, Takeo,” Gavin spoke up as they weaved their way through Lucifan’s crowded streets, “I was thinking maybe instead of finding a ship to Juatwa, we’ll just travel to Savara or The North and walk from there? It would give us more time to train Nicholas and Krunk. Also, you did say you weren’t in a hurry.”
Takeo sighed. They’d been through this before.
As it turned out, Gavin had tried to leave Lucifan once. In a moment of desperation after quitting the Knights’ Order, Gavin had decided to set sail in search of Emily. He’d soon become seasick and bedridden, and he’d begged the ship’s captain to take him back to land rather than force the knight to endure the torture for the half a year it would take to reach Savara. Fortunately for Gavin, the ship was only one day out from Lucifan, and the ship’s captain, having a high level of respect and sympathy for knights, had turned the ship around and returned Gavin to Lucifan’s port. After that adventure, Gavin had abandoned any thought of searching the world over for one girl.
“I’ve told you before, you’ll get used to the motion,” Takeo said. “You’ll be sick maybe a month at most.”
“Krunk don’t want to be sick for a month. Krunk thinks we should walk.”
“Damn it, Gavin,” Takeo said. “Now you’ve got the ogre thinking he’ll be sick.”
“Hey, he probably will,” Gavin pressed. “He’s never been on a ship before. If you think I’m going to be a problem for a month, think about how bad he’ll be. His stomach is easily twice the size of ours. Besides, now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know how to swim.”
Takeo paused in the middle of the street, which was a decision he instantly regretted as the weight of the crowd bore down on him and a unicorn-led cart knocked him aside. Quickly, the four of them drew off to the side.
“Do you know how to swim, Krunk?” Takeo asked.
“What is swim?”
“The water,” Nicholas said and pointed down the road to where the ocean waves were just visible through the mass of buildings. “Have you ever been in the water?”
“Yes!” Krunk smiled proudly, chest swelling with pride.
“Without your feet on the ground,” Nicholas added.
Krunk’s smile faded, and he shook his head. Takeo raised a hand to deflect the splattering of saliva.
“Why didn’t you bring this up before?” Takeo demanded of Gavin.
“Honestly, I didn’t think of it until now.” Gavin shrugged. “I know how to swim. I used to do it all the time as a kid, playing in the ocean. I just realized Krunk might not have done that.”
“I became a viking,” Nicholas said when Takeo’s eyes fell on him. “I learned to swim.”
Takeo put a hand to his chin and mulled things over again. At first, he fought off a vast regret for ever agreeing to let anyone join him on this journey, but then he realized this changed nothing.
“None of this matters,” Takeo said, cutting the air with his hand. “It’ll take us a good year to reach Juatwa by sea, maybe a little less if we find a ship that’s traveling straight there, but it’ll take us easily twice as long by land. Gavin, I’ve seen your sickness before. It’s very common, and you’ll get over it. They even have a saying for it: getting your sea legs.”
“Krunk likes the legs he has now.”
“I understand that, Krunk,” Takeo continued, “but don’t worry. You’ll get your normal legs back after the voyage is done. While we’re out there, I’ll teach you to swim so that if anything happens to the ship, you won’t drown. You’ll have to learn to swim because there is no way any of us could carry you to shore. Even with your limited intelligence, I’ll bet it takes you less than a week to learn to float and maybe another two to learn how to kick to shore.” He turned back to Gavin. “Face it. This is our best option.”
“No, it’s our fastest option,” Gavin countered.
“It’s the option that doesn’t make you look like a scared goblin,” Nicholas said.
Takeo nearly reprimanded Nicholas for that comment but then changed his mind. There was too much truth to it. If the knight was complaining about a little sickness now, who knew how bad he might get if they ran out of food or water up in the Khaz Mal Mountains?
Gavin took in a large breath, one Krunk watched carefully, and put his hands on his hips. Green eyes flicked from Takeo to Nicholas before settling on the ground.
“Damn it, fine,” the knight said. “Can we at least be sure there are women onboard?”
“We’ll try, how’s that?”
“Good enough.”
They resumed their travels and reached the docks shortly thereafter. With all the talk about Lucifan slowing down, Takeo expected a dearth of activity in Lucifan’s port, but if what he saw was slow, he was too naïve to recognize it. Ships pulled up alongside docks or anchored in the harbor, workers loaded and offloaded crates with pulley systems or long ramps, and others crossed the distance between anchored vessels and the port in launches.
There seemed nothing left to do but start asking.
On Takeo’s request, Nicholas did the talking. Not only was he louder and generally more talkative, he was also the largest and strongest of the group besides Krunk. Besides that, Nicholas had done this before, having left Lucifan many years ago in the same fashion, trying to bum a ride off of ship captains.
“Looking for passage to Juatwa,” Nicholas shouted to one, once he got her attention. “Four of us. All warriors. Willing to work for passage.”
“Not interested,” she shouted back, her eyes fixed on Krunk.
Nicholas opened his mouth to reply, but she’d already turned away. Takeo frowned. Juatwa might be a place of war, but at least people had manners there.
However, Nicholas was unperturbed. He swept onwards as if nothing had happened and shouted at the next ship with a voice that could shake mountains.
“Hey. Hey!”
Someone on board the vessel gave the sign to wait, and a frail, old man appeared a moment later.
“We’re looking for passage to Juatwa,” Nicholas shouted. “Four warriors, veterans all. We’ll work hard.”
The old man’s eyes flicked to Krunk, then back to Nicholas. It was hard to tell at this distance, but Takeo was fairly certain the old man had crinkled his nose.
“Not headed to Juatwa, I’m afraid,” he said.
“Savara? We’ll get as close as we can.”
“Sorry, lad,�
�� he sighed. “Don’t got the room for four.”
He frowned apologetically and turned away. Nicholas paused only a second and moved on. Takeo’s jaw clenched at the obvious pattern that was beginning to form.
Ship after ship, captain after captain, Nicholas’ requests for passage were each given a sharp denial after a single glance at Krunk. When they had walked the length of the docks, they turned back and followed the same route again as ships were always pulling in and out of the port. After each denial, Nicholas’ requests began to get more elaborate, and his pauses after the rejections lengthened. All three of them tried hard not to look in Krunk’s direction, but it became increasingly difficult. Krunk, for what it was worth, seemed almost oblivious to what was happening. Almost. With a careful eye, one could see the crinkle of confusion forming on the ogre’s brow.
After the tenth ship, Takeo had had enough.
When the next captain, a portly man with one too many chins, said, “I’m sorry, no room,” Takeo stepped in front of Nicholas and shouted at him.
“Just say it. What’s the issue with the ogre?”
The captain balked, obviously surprised to be addressed so sharply. Then anger overcame surprise, and he raised his chins to look down on Takeo.
“Tell your man to restrain himself, please,” he said to Nicholas. “I’ll not be talked to—”
“Look at me,” Takeo warned, his hand reaching to grip his sword. “I’ll talk to you however I damn well please. I’ll ask you one more time before I come up there and cut your head off. What is the issue with bringing an ogre?”
The captain startled, and for a moment, it looked like he was going to retort again, but whatever he saw in Takeo’s gaze drained the color from his chubby face. He drew out a handkerchief to dab his forehead.
“Well, if you insist,” he said, swallowing. “You’re clearly not from here. A ronin, I presume? You see, ogres have a reputation. Any captain worth his salt knows they are terrible workers. They hate following orders, eat far too much food, and bully the rest of the crew. The trip from Lucifan to anywhere else is not a short one, and for what that ogre will eat, I could bring two skilled men aboard, get twice as much done, and have twice as much protection if I’m boarded.
“What else, as you might not know, is that Lucifan has an excess of travelers like yourself. People are fleeing this city in droves and are willing to pay good money to be taken anywhere else. You offer your labor while bringing an ogre when I could get solid coin for taking someone worth half the trouble. I’m sorry to say, sir—and I use that term lightly—but you’ll not find a single ship willing to take on an ogre these days.”
The fat man smiled, and Takeo’s grip tightened. He couldn’t believe the smugness in that statement, the actual satisfaction this captain and all the others had over their blatant discrimination.
I judged him wrongly before I ever gave him a chance.
“This is what Emily died for?” Takeo said softly.
“Huh?” the captain shouted. “What was that?”
“Why should you get to live and not her?” Takeo asked, louder this time.
“Who? Her who? I still can’t hear you.” The captain put a hand to his ear and then threw his hands in the air. “I’ve had enough of this.”
The man turned to leave, and Takeo gauged the distance of the ship from the docks. He could leap and catch that ship’s rim, climb aboard, and have that bastard’s head in half a moment if he wanted to. He squeezed the pommel of his sword.
“Takeo,” Gavin whispered and touched the samurai’s shoulder. “Hey, Takeo?”
Another hand touched Takeo’s shoulder, this one with enough strength and conviction to pull him out of his quiet rage. Takeo forced himself to relax. Through sheer determination, he detached his hand from his sword and took a deep breath.
“I thought you were going to kill him there for a second,” Gavin said.
“So did I,” Takeo replied.
“Let it go.” Gavin shrugged. “We’ll find a ship.”
Chapter 11
They never found a ship. They searched and searched, waited for old ones to leave and new ones to come. The entire day, they probably tried to engage more than two dozen ships that appeared capable of making the journey to either Savara or Juatwa, but none wanted to take on an ogre. One captain even outright laughed and then took on another group of men who were shouting for the same thing nearby.
Over the day, Takeo saw proof of what the fat captain had said. The docks were full of refugees.
There were men, women, and children, minotaurs, satyrs, and gnomes. Takeo noticed one peculiar human, short with pointed ears, whose fair skin and beauty gave him pause. Gavin told him the creature was an elf.
“So that’s who taught Emily to shoot two arrows,” Takeo said. “I hope that elf doesn’t travel to Juatwa.”
“Why’s that?” Gavin asked.
“The elves taught Emily that trick on the promise she would never share it. However, when I was sold into slavery in Juatwa, that was the only thing she had left to trade to the ninjas who knew my location. If that elf travels to my home, she might learn why it is her kind is so reluctant to trust humans.”
“I see. That kind of information could threaten the amazons’ alliance with the elves.”
“True. We might very well be witnessing the beginning of the end.”
“And it’s all your fault.”
Takeo looked sidelong at Gavin, unsure of whether he was serious or joking. The look he received implied both, so Takeo took it as such and was equal parts annoyed and humored. They moved on but never saw the elf again.
Now that the city had been invaded and no longer enjoyed the nearly tangible aura of angelic protection, a good number of people were willing to risk traveling the world. So little loyalty remained for Lucifan that only a few of the people who boarded the ships, carrying all their belongings, looked back as the place faded into the distance. Of the few families Takeo noted, most were broken, maybe a man or a woman with children in tow, but hardly ever both parents together. Similarly, individual warriors constantly lined up out of thin air, drunk and disheartened, but eager to shout their experience. Takeo couldn’t help but startle at the sheer number of ex-knights begging for passage across the sea. Either a lot of these men and women were liars, or Sir Mark’s already dire situation was about to worsen.
Dire, he thought and grimaced. These people didn’t know the meaning of the word.
He wanted to leap onto the nearest crate and shout above the crowd, “You imbeciles! You idiots! Do you truly know what awaits you out there? Do you think Savara a land of hope, Juatwa a land of peace, or The North a land of warmth? No, you will be broken. You will starve. You will die. Go back to your homes, all of you! Go back and rebuild this land of squandered wealth, this paradise. Where you travel, there will be no Knights’ Order to keep the despicable at bay. They will prey on your weakness, your kindness, and your ignorance. What little you think you have will be ripped from your arms, and you will beg, borrow, and steal to find your way back here. You don’t know how good you have it, but you will soon. You are not worthy of this city. You are not worthy of the sacrifice that was made to save you.”
Instead, Takeo said aloud to his companions, “I’ve had enough of this place. Lucifan be damned. You win, Gavin. We travel by foot. I don’t want to waste another day here.”
By nightfall they were trudging up the grassy basin to the Great Plains with only Nicholas’ exaggerated whine trailing behind.
“Just like, you don’t want to give it another day?” Nicholas ranted. “What happened to all those arguments you used, Takeo? Gavin begs and begs to travel by foot, and you deny him over and over only to change your mind in a second over a few rejections? You know this is going to double our journey to Juatwa? I’m a viking! We travel by ship, not foot. I can’t believe this. What are we going to do when we’re halfway up the first mountain in Khaz Mal and you change your mind again? Huh? This is a pile
of warg waste is what it is! I’d rather be tilling the fields back home. Hey, if it’s so bad, why don’t Krunk and Gavin stay? You and I can go to Juatwa, Takeo, while they travel on foot and meet up with us in two years or so. Don’t you have some common place we can all meet up? Your home or something? I mean, this is going to be a long trip is what I’m trying to explain. What’s one more day at the docks? Just one? Maybe we find something, maybe we don’t? All I’m saying is that it’s worth one more day. I’ll even go alone if you don’t like it. You don’t have to be there. I’ve done this before, bartering my way. I can do it again. Huh? What do you say? Nothing? Again? Hey, you can even stay up here on the grass if you want. No one is saying you have to go back in the city. I’m talking too much, is that it? You’re not even listening are you? I could say whatever I wanted right now, I’ll bet. Takeo is short. Takeo is temperamental. Gavin is a woman’s toy. Krunk is a man-child. No one cares what Nicholas wants or says. At least Gavin got an explanation, but Nicholas gets nothing. We travel because our lord, our jarl, our general says so. Blah blah blah!”
They reached the top of the basin. Takeo stopped and turned to Nicholas, interrupting his rant with a look.
“What?” Nicholas asked.
He had the nerve to look surprised that he was being singled out, and Takeo shook his head.
“You want an explanation?” Takeo said. “I’ll give you one in the only language vikings understand. Gavin, would you do the honors?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Gavin replied.
The knight stepped apart from the group and dropped his pack to the ground. He then unslung his shield and looped his left arm through the straps before drawing his sword.
