by C Woodward
"Could you just recharge it to prolong it?" I asked.
She shrugged, "I can only recharge so much each day without wearing myself out. I can't just lie around on board and be useless."
The four of us sat around in our room, trying to figure out a good plan. Finally, Jerak had an idea.
"Alright! I have it! You guys won’t like it, but it should work!" Jerak said in confidence.
Sadly, his idea was the best one. We got ready and ventured out to the docks. Talestria had her pendant on and I wore my armor. I didn't like this plan one bit but I couldn’t see any other way unless it resorted to sell the few things we had. Talestria wouldn't let me sell the armor.
The salty air was cold and the dock was a huge mess with all sorts of supplies coming in and out of the port. I saw several warships that had mounted ballistae that were quite impressive to see. Further down, we spotted some good-sized cargo ships. We made our way to one of them.
Amgati sighed deeply and put his arm around Talestria, who wasn't too thrilled about it either. He walked up to one of the captains of a crew ship. He forced a smile, "Hello there! Would by chance any of you be willing to allow my wife and I on board with our two employees. We are willing to work for passage to Lyonus."
The captain laughed, "Sorry. As much as I want to, I don't trust my crew with a lovely woman on board. Besides, I doubt she could pull her weight."
Talestria frowned but kept her mouth shut. The rest of us walked away and tried two other captains with the same results.
"Well, this isn't going well. They act like it is taboo for a woman to be on their ship," I sighed.
Jerak shrugged, "Sailors are an odd bunch. They must think their crew would be too distracted with a woman on board. Maybe we need to find a smaller ship that isn't so picky."
Talestria shook her head, "It will be hard for me to hide away in a smaller ship while in disguise."
Then it hit me, "I have an idea, but you might not like it sweetie."
We walked out of view and found a small hiding place. The three of them looked at me oddly as I begin to undo my armor.
"So, what is this plan that you think I'll hate?" Talestria asked.
I took off a section of my armor and handed it to Talestria, "Here, put this on"
Talestria gave me a strange look, "You're serious?"
I nodded, "Yes. You will wear the armor and pass off as a man."
Talestria cringed at the idea, "You're right, I do hate this idea. But we have no choice."
I helped Talestria get changed into the armor. It was weird to see her wearing it but at least now she could completely conceal herself. My tunic was dirty but it concealed any blood stains with some crude bandages.
"Well, now we need to figure how to make Talestria's voice sound like a man." Amgati said. He looked kind of amused to see her in armor.
I smiled, "That's easy. She is mute."
Talestria shook her head, "I guess that would do."
We checked out a few ships and finally found a smaller ship that appeared eager to get a few extra hands.
The captain was a heavy set man with a long, unkempt beard and his clothing smelled of fish, "We would be happy to have you four with us." He looked at Talestria, "That is some fancy armor you have there sir."
Amgati forced a smile, "That is Talik. He doesn't speak. He is mute." He called as we entered the ship.
Jerak walked past, "He is kind of odd but trustworthy."
Talestria followed Jerak on the ship while giving the captain a nod.
I gave the captain a grin, "Just don't ask him to take his helmet off. He is anti-social."
The captain gave me a bewildered look but shrugged, "Well, help is help. Hope you guys don't mind doing some cleaning and fish gutting!"
Chapter 5
Right at the start we knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant trip. Then again, we didn't expect pleasant when we got aboard this fishing ship. The captain showed us around and showed us a small room to bunk in. I thought the room we stayed at the inn was tiny. This might fit two people at a time. Then again, we would be working in shifts. Much of the crew didn't look fully developed, but maybe I’m just in a foul mood.
None of us were in high spirits at the start. Talestria was the least happy. She wasn't used to this sort of thing and had to wear the armor the whole time. We explained to the crew that "Talik" was mute but I was sure it wouldn’t prevent some of them of trying to talk to "him". It will take two to three days, depending on the weather.
They quickly got us loading the ship, which wasn’t so bad except for how weak I still was. Also, we were famished. We rolled up a few barrels that smelled like really old apples. Jerak and Amgati hauled countless sacks of salt. Talestria helped me out and muttered quietly to herself so only I could hear her. She was going to make me pay for this trip that was for sure.
We finally filled the underbelly of the ship with supplies and heard the captain shout to set sail. Talestria and I watched the port as we started moving outward. This was her first time out on a ship like this. She had been out on boat in the lake near home several times many years ago, but never out to sea. For a while we enjoyed ourselves. One of the crew handed us a bucket and some brushes. The swabbing was starting.
"Why bother cleaning the floor if it's just going to be filthy before the day is over?" Talestria muttered quietly to me.
I let out a sigh and kept scrubbing. No sense adding any commentary. It would only enrage her. She was used to having her golems doing such chores. I didn't know where Jerak or Amgati were they likely were enjoying our voyage as much as we were. Scrubbing the floor was tedious but it helped time go by faster, I hoped.
Most of the crew on deck were preoccupied to even bother us, other than to give us more things to clean. Jerak came out with a huge mass of fish nets. He and two others began quietly mending them. Jerak seemed to have no difficulty adjusting to all of this, but I recalled that he came from a fishing village so he must have had experience.
"Alright you two! Help the elf down below. Then you can eat!" one of the crew men shouted at us.
Talestria and I quickly followed his orders. I was so hungry that I didn't care what they served as long it was edible. As soon as we got inside, the scent of cooked fish filled our nostrils. Oh, I was so looking forward to this! We moved around the clutter of crates and barrels to find Amgati in the galley. He was the one doing the cooking!
He gave us a grin, "Oh, good to see you two! Do me a favor and set the table."
I heard Talestria groan a bit. Even with the helmet on, I could see she was glaring. She and I had been on our hands and knees scrubbing the deck while Amgati cooked. I couldn't help but chuckle while I collected the items to get supper ready.
The captain and the crew filled the table, eager to see how good their new cook was. The meal was white fish fried to a crisp with bits of dried fruit. The way Amgati made it, it actually looked good. The crew seem to enjoy themselves. They threw a few compliments at Amgati for his cooking as they gobbled it down. After they had their meal, the four of us quietly ate our fill. Talestria hid in a corner so she could take off her helmet. Amgati was quite a cook!
We helped Amgati clean the dishes and pans while Jerak continued helping with the nets up on deck. Our spirits were higher now that we had a proper meal. Even so, I couldn't wait to reach Lyonus and figure out our next plan.
There was only room for two in our little cabin. Amgati insisted that Talestria and I sleep first. Jerak was fine with that as he wanted to do some night fishing. I found the cleanest blanket I could and used it to cover Talestria in case someone came in and spotted her without the armor. Hammocks hung on either side and were too uncomfortable to share. Plus, that would be awkward to explain. Also, there was the fact that none of us had bathed in a long while.
I woke up to a knock on the door. Jerak poked his head in to tell us that it was our shift. Talestria muttered a little but slowly got up. "It is still dark out," she cried qu
ietly. She let out a tired yawn and began to put the armor on.
There wasn't much to do, apart from trying to look busy. It was freezing out before the sun came up. We had a small breakfast which was some kind of mush that didn't taste like anything. Then we helped clean the dishes. The original cook wasn't very careful about keeping the galley tidy. We heard quite a bit of chatter up above but it was only the crew trying to catch fish in their nets.
The rest of the day was quite boring but at least we didn't have to scrub the deck. By the time Jerak and Amgati got up, we helped gut fish and store them in a barrel of salt. Amgati helped out by cooking the next meal for everyone while we again helped serve and clean. Jerak helped out above the deck. It was pretty much the same meal as yesterday. Amgati didn't have much to work with, but at least it was tasty.
Amgati and Jerak went to sleep that evening while Talestria and I cleaned the deck. Talestria was not thrilled about cleaning fish guts off the deck. One of the crew was out on the deck with us but he was busy celebrating the catch by drinking himself into a stupor. He kept asking Talestria questions even though I reminded him that "Talik" was mute. He made his way around us and showed us that he forgot. It was going to be a long night.
Talestria and I finally got to use our hammocks, just in time to be told we had reached land. I went up to see what was going on. Talestria didn't want to budge from her blanket. I walked out and saw we were sailing near a fleet of Lyonus ships. Behind them was a large fortified seaport called Victory.
We didn't stop at Victory. It was the entry way into the bay before reaching Lyonus. Apparently, there had been a huge, navy battle many years ago when the Tehlkians invaded but were driven off at that very spot. The Lyonus Empire built a large naval base there to make sure it stayed safe. It was quite interesting actually. After a few minutes of watching the ships and the tall sails, I decided to go back to sleep.
Amgati woke us when we reached Lyonus. We were all eager to get on dry land. Sadly, we had to help with hauling things off the ship. As Talestria and I walked on deck we were surprised to see that Lyonus was quite beautiful!
There were tons of fancy ships docked at the harbor. Most of the buildings were made out of stone and concrete with many hanging plants. The city appeared to carry large canals all throughout the city in a grid. Spanning the canals were many stone bridges of different sizes that had pieces of art carved into them. The city appeared to be much larger than anything I had seen in a very long time. It even made Vunash appear small. Vunash; I hoped all was okay there.
"Any idea where the magic school lies?" Talestria asked Amgati.
He scratched his head a bit, "It has been many years since I last visited this city."
Jerak strutted by with his hands clasped on back of his head, "Just follow the rich houses."
"You know where it is?" I asked.
Jerak grinned, "Nope, but that's where all the fancy mage stuff is built."
I shrugged, "Can't argue with that. I guess we will head to the more wealthy areas then."
Talestria moved in front of me, "First, I am going to change out of this armor."
I glanced around for a secluded spot. There was an alley close by that appeared to be closed off. I signaled them to follow me as I jogged over. The alley was secluded but had a little opening. I moved Jerak and Amgati to face outward to block any chance of someone looking in while I helped Talestria change.
Talestria tried to fix her hair but gave up and tied it in a ponytail. She sniffed herself a bit and frowned, "I smell like fish guts." She sighed and put her pendant on. Soon the air around her distorted and she became a blond elf.
I put my armor back on and we made our way out of the dark alley. I agreed with Talestria about our stench. We all smelled pretty bad but wasn’t sure how we could afford a bath let alone a place to stay for the night. First things first; find where we make contact with Falstrid and Ayjestus. I really didn't know what else to do after that. No sensing stressing beyond that now.
"Now to find the mage school," I mentioned. This was a pretty huge city and we had already seen a ton of fancy buildings everywhere.
Amgati scratched his head, "I feel out of my element here. This isn't like Celvanis nor Vunash."
Talestria rolled her eyes, "You three really are clueless. It's very easy." She walked past us and toward the nearest guard. "Excuse me, kind sir, do you know where the mage school is?"
The guard smiled back, "Well miss, you take this road past the bridge then turn left. It is the large building with the blue spire. You can't miss it"
"Thank you!" Talestria said kindly and walked back to us. She gave us a grin, "I guess Blake isn't the only one who can't ask for directions."
The three of us felt a little emasculated right there. We looked at each other and just moved on.
"Hey, I have asked for directions before," I protested.
Talestria gave me a look, "Yeah? When was that?"
Dang, she got me there. I better not say anymore that might eventually land me into trouble.
We could see the stone bridge. It was quite a distance away. This city was huge. Most of the population appeared to be human but we saw a few dwarves and one or two ogres going about their business.
Jerak peered around, "Wish Bolam was with us. He was born here."
I looked at him, "Really? I must have forgotten." My body suddenly jolted. All I could hear were two very loud heartbeats. As soon as that happened, every nerve in my body stung me as if I had been shocked. Every muscle in my body gave out and I found myself on the cobblestones.
"Blake! What happened?!" Talestria cried out. She knelt over me.
My joints felt tingly as I regained some feeling. There was a sharp pain in my chest which caused me to cringe. I placed my hand over my chest and felt rapid beating. My three companions helped me up.
"What was that about?" Amgati asked.
"I don't know. My chest," I tried to answer while trying to catch my breath.
Talestria peeked under my tunic and gasped a little. She quickly moved away, "We need to get him out of sight. There are too many people around us."
They guided me around a corner of a building. I sat down on a wooden crate.
"What is it?" Jerak asked.
Talestria sighed and lifted up my tunic.
Jerak and Amgati looked shocked in surprise.
"The veins have grown," Jerak muttered,
I looked down and he was right. The dark mass over my heart had expanded, its veins covering my chest and stomach. The gaps around were dark grey and smooth. I was almost afraid to touch it.
"That means it is getting worse," Amgati commented.
I pulled my tunic back down. I closed my eyes and took several slow breaths. I needed to calm myself down.
Talestria looked at me with sadness in her eyes. "We need to discuss this with Ayjestus quickly," she tried to hide her feelings but I knew she was worried.
I stood back up and took a few steps.
"Are you able to move?" Amgati asked.
I gave him a nod, "I'm fine now. We need to get going."
It seemed no one even took notice of us. There were many people who all looked preoccupied with their daily lives. We had better get moving.
The four of us walked fast toward the bridge. A small boat sailed under it. Two children were fishing over the ledge of the canal. It was quite peaceful here. We could see the intersection of where we should turn left. I hoped the mages were going to help us. As we made our turn, a familiar face came into view. It was Kalus Silverleaf!
I was surprised to see the elvin bard way out here. He wore fancy, colorful clothing and was talking to a few human women. He was always the womanizer. He glanced in our direction and did a double take.
"Blake? Is that you? Hey, it's Jerak as well!" Kalus said cheerfully. "Who is this enchanting woman with you?" He was about to pull his charm when he recognized Talestria and his face went into surprise. "Oh sorry, well, you're looking lovely."
Talestria giggled, "Yeah, I have a disguise," She tapped her pendant.
Kalus nodded, "A very convincing one at that."
I smiled under my helmet, "So, what are you doing out here Kalus?"
Kalus laughed, "I was going to ask you the same thing. You are quite far from the Far..." Just then Amgati punched Kalus in the face and shouted at him, "I thought I knew your face! How dare you defile my sister?"
Kalus staggered back, "Oh, it's you. Amgati. Look! Your sister came onto me," He stood back up, turned and ran.
