Runefell: Crossroads

by Shawn Sodman

  “Go,” Leon says. “Protect the girl.”

  Allen nods to Leon then rushes through the officers’ quarters as he draws his sword. He enters the Captain's quarters at the stern of the ship. The loud storm outside is replaced with the sound of Marie's scream. At the far end of the room the orcnea has Marie by the wrist and is laughing at her.

  “Hey!” Allen yells at the orcnea, “Why don't you fight someone who can fight back?”

  The orcnea releases Marie's wrist and says something in orcneish that Allen cannot understand. The orcnea then laughs, and with his sword also drawn, he starts to come at Allen. The large reddish skinned creature is crudely dressed. He has worn leather on his chest and groin. His bare arms and legs offer little protection for his limbs but allows him to move quickly. Long pointed ears to stick out the sides of his leather cap. His feet are bare. Allen is only as tall as this orcnea's chest.

  Marie runs through the door and into the hallway she was hiding in earlier. She hides behind the door but continues to peek out. The orcnea goes straight for Allen, grabbing and throwing chairs out of his way as he moves. Allen waits nervously assessing the situation. Then as the orcnea gets close he swings his sword at Allen. With very little room to maneuver, Allen dives under the small dining table in the center of the room. The orcnea flips over the table and as it flies back against the wall, Allen stands up and slashes his sword across the orcnea's chest. The tattered leather absorbs most of the strike but the orcnea is now bleeding.

  The orcnea lets out a menacing yell as he swings at Allen again. This time Allen simply backs up out of reach. The orcnea wildly swings again as Allen's back hits the wall behind him. Allen is careful not to fall or trip over the debris all over the floor. The orcnea, however, stumbles over a chair and Allen sees an opening and makes his move. He steps forward and thrusts his sword in to the orcnea's gut. The orcnea stops and drops his sword. Letting out a painful grunt he grabs Allen's face with both hands. Allen grips his sword tightly and as he looks the creature in the eyes he twists his blade. The orcnea’s yellow eyes almost seem to glow as he pushes Allen away. Allen manages to hang on to his sword, pulling the now bloody weapon from the orcnea who holds his hands over the wound. Allen hesitates, not sure what to do next.

  The orcnea turns his head to find his sword on the ground next to him. He makes his move for it, and grabbing it off the ground he turns to attack Allen. To his surprise, however, the orcnea finds himself once again impaled on Allen's sword. The orcnea lets out his last breath as he drops to his knees. Then as Allen pulls back his blood soaked sword, the orcnea falls face down to the floor.

  Allen turns to Marie and asks, “Are you alright?”

  She doesn't say anything. She just stands there behind the door in shock for a moment. Then looking past Allen she sees another orcnea enter the room behind him. “Allen, look out!” She warns.

  This orcnea has a short whip much like the cat of nine tales, but heavier, and with metal barbs tied into the knots. Before Allen is able to turn around, the orcnea whips Allen's back. Allen turns to face the orcnea just as he tries to whip Allen for a second time. Allen puts his arm up and the whip wraps around Allen's wrist. Allen looks at the orcnea and says, “I know a woman who whips harder than that.” Allen then yanks the whip from the orcnea's hand, then charges at the red creature.

  Outside on the deck, Fernando and Ariella are having little problem with the invaders. Fernando easily parries one orcnea's attack, and then with both swords he spins around and thrusts them both deep into the orcnea's chest. Then as he ducks another attack he slashes the attacking orcnea across the neck, and before the orcnea even hits the deck he is dead.

  Ariella's approach is a little different. In one hand she has a short sword she uses to parry oncoming attacks with. For offense, however, she is wielding an electrical whip formed from magic. It is has a short reach, but it is very powerful. With the Captain's graceful movements it almost looks like a dance as she keeps the attacking orcneas at bay. When an orcnea steps within her reach she makes him pay.

  On the other ship Chance continues to burn any orcnea that tries to challenge him. With flames jetting from both hands he makes his way across the deck to the shamans on the other side. After dealing with them Chance hurls a fireball at the main mast. This ignites the tree-like mast and captures everyone's attention. Ariella turns to see the fire on the orcnea ship but does not see Chance.

  This distraction, however, allows an orcnea to take Ariella by surprise. One of the last remaining orcneas on the deck of the Red Dawn charges the Captain and knocks her down. The lightning whip disappears and she is left stunned and looking up as the orcnea begins to swing his sword at her. Just as the sword is about to strike, Fernando intercepts the blade with his own sword. He looks at the orcnea and says, “That is no way to treat a lady.” Then with a quick twist of his sword he throws the orcnea off balance and impales his blade into the orcnea. The life fades from the orcnea's eyes as he collapses.

  Fernando holds out his hand to Ariella. She takes it and he swiftly pulls her up and into his arms. Fernando takes the opportunity to kiss the Captain who is completely caught off guard. She resists the kiss at first but is soon gives in to passion.

  Fernando, still holding Ariella, asks, “Are you alright?” Ariella is lost in his gaze.

  “Look! It's Chance!” Jacob yells out.

  “The Orcnea Slayer has returned,” calls out another voice.

  Ariella glances over to the other ship and can see Chance looking back at her. She realizes that he had seen it all. Chance turns around and returns his attention to the orcneas. He unleashes a raging fire that surrounds him and engulfs the entire deck of the orcnea ship. Within the flames, Chance stands completely unharmed. In disbelief Ariella says to herself, “He came back.” She watches the towering flames begin to devour the orcnea ship. Chance is unable to see Ariella break free from Fernando and slap him across the face.

  With no orcnea threat left on the deck of the Red Dawn, the crew watches in silence as Chance makes his way through the flames and down a stairway into the lower deck of the orcnea ship. Ariella and the others watch as orcnea after orcnea emerge from the lower level completely in flames. Some manage to throw themselves into the sea, others are unable to make it as they burn to death on deck.

  Ariella watches the carnage looking a bit unnerved. “By the Gods,” she says.

  Drake, watching on, says, “Burn them all, Orcnea Slayer.”

  Ariella calls out, “Cut those grapple lines now!”

  The men run to the edge of the ship and begin cutting the lines that bind the two ships together. The storm now begins to clear up rapidly and soon the sun begins to break through the clouds. The Red Dawn begins to drift away from the ship that now burns like an inferno.

  Ariella then remembers Allen and calls out, “Marie!” She immediately runs to her quarters and Fernando follows. As they enter the cabin they see Allen covered with blood standing over four dead orcneas.

  Fernando surveys the damage and says, “Impressive.”

  “Marie?” Ariella asks, “Are you two alright?”

  Allen looks at Marie to see how she is doing. Marie smiles and says, “Yes, ma'am, thanks to Allen.”

  “Good work, Allen,” Ariella says.

  “I only did what I had to, Captain,” Allen answers with blank look. He then walks right past Ariella and Fernando and out the door.

  On the deck, Torgus is with Leon who is still sitting with the spear in his shoulder. Drake walks up to them and says to Leon, “Looks like I got the most kills this time.”

  They laugh as Torgus says to Leon, “Now hold still, lad. This is going to hurt.” Torgus pulls the spear from his back as Leon closes his eyes and winces in pain. “Alright, now that it's out I will try to heal the wounds.” Torgus holds up his hand and as it begins to glow with a white energy, he touches Leon's shoulder and the wound begins to heal. “That's all I can do, my friend. The rest of it will have to heal on
its own.”

  Leon stands up and shrugs his shoulder. He winces in pain and says, “Thanks.”

  Allen walks out on deck and past them as if he doesn't notice them. He is pale in the face, and Drake asks him, “Allen? Are you alright?”

  Allen looks up at Drake as if he didn't hear him then after pausing for a moment he runs to the rail of the ship and violently vomits over the edge.

  Drake then walks over and places his hand on Allen's shoulder. He asks again, “Are you alright?”

  Allen, catching his breath looks at Leon and says, “I am fine. Thanks.”

  “Is Marie alright?” Leon asks sounding fearful of the answer.

  “Yes,” Allen says, “She is fine.”

  “Don't worry, Allen, we understand. Your first kill can be...” Drake stops and looks at Leon who nods.

  “Horrible,” Allen finishes his thought. “I was so afraid, at first then,” he pauses, “and then I wasn't. When the second orcnea attacked I became filled with rage. I easily killed him. Then the third one came in and—”

  “Wait a second,” Drake interrupts. “Third? You killed three orcneas?”

  “Four, actually,” Allen answers, staring off at the horizon.

  Leon says, “So, let me get this straight, you risk yourself to pull my ass to safety, then go and protect that pretty young girl from not just one, but four orcneas? Damn, I think I am getting too old for this crap.” He looks at Drake as they all laugh.

  Ariella emerges from the officers’ quarters and says, “Find me one of these orcneas that is still alive!”

  “Aye, Capt'n,” John says, as he begins to search the orcneas.

  As if from out of nowhere Chance's voice says, “This may be useful information.” Chance is standing there, without a mark on him. He reaches under his breastplate and pulls out handful of scorched scrolls. “A few of them are damaged,” he says, “but we should be able to read them still. I only got a glimpse of them, but they appeared to be battle plans. Is everyone alright here?”

  Ariella looks at Torgus and asks, “How many did we lose?”

  Torgus looks down and sighs heavily and answers, “We lost Mr. Richards and Mr. Berry.”

  “Then we were very fortunate indeed to have only lost two,” Ariella replies. She tries to make eye contact with Chance but he avoids it as he looks around the ship. She continues, “Chance, if you hadn't come back it would have been much worse. Thank you.”

  “You don't have to thank me,” Chance says as he now makes eye contact with her. The look in his eyes is cold and distant. “I will help heal the remainder of the wounded.”

  “Chance,” Ariella begins to say.

  “I will start by healing those who are hurt the worst,” Chance says not letting her finish. “Then, when we get underway, we can look at these plans together.”

  As Chance walks past Ariella, Leon whispers to Drake, “What is going on? They are acting like they don't know each other.”

  “I am not sure,” Drake says under his breath, “but something ain’t right.”

  John calls out, “Capt'n! I found an orcnea that is still alive!”

  Ariella looks over at John and says, “Good. Now take him down below and lock him up.”

  “Yes, ma'am,” John answers. Drake and Leon help John take the orcnea below.

  Ariella looks around and finds Chance tending to a few of the injured men. She walks over to him and watches as he places his white glowing hands on one of them. As he does the man's injuries are mostly healed.

  “Thank you, Mr. Na'Moon,” the crewman says to him.

  “You're welcome,” Chance says.

  The man walks away as Ariella asks, “Chance, can we please talk?”

  Chance almost ignoring her says, “I think everyone is healed. I will not be much help with repairs, but I'll do what I can.”

  “Chance, please!” Ariella yells as she grabs his arm.

  Chance stands there looking down, once again not able to look her in the eyes. He doesn't say a word as Ariella continues to hold his arm. “Look at me,” Ariella says quietly, almost begging, “Please.”

  Chance looks up, and now Ariella can see the pain in his eyes. “What is it?” he asks softly.

  “What you saw earlier,” Ariella begins to explain, “It’s not what you think.”

  “It doesn't matter if it is,” Chance replies, “I have no claim to you. I expected you to find someone else by now.”

  “Fernando Greythorn is not my lover!” Ariella shouts. Ariella then looks around at the crew realizing how loud she had just said it. Some of the crew who have stopped working to listen jump back to their tasks as the Captain looks in their direction. She then quietly continues, “I have only known him for two days.”

  “Two days?” Chance asks sounding disappointed.

  Ariella sighs knowing how bad that sounded. She takes a moment to calm herself, and then keeping her voice down she explains, “Fernando Greythorn knows where to find my father's treasure. Once he leads me to it, he will be gone. He means nothing to me.”

  “What about all the others?” Chance asks as he now looks at her.

  Ariella looks at him but drops her eyes. She has a sinking feeling throughout. Knowing the answer she still asks, “What others?”

  Chance says, “You know full well what I am talking about. You do have a certain reputation...”

  The sinking feeling is now quickly replaced with anger as Ariella strikes him across the face. “How dare you!” Ariella snaps. “Those others would never have happened if you had come for me like you promised.” Chance now is the one who looks down as she continues, “When you took those vows with that Amazon, I swore that day that no man would EVER hurt me again, and you know what? Till this day, no man has.”

  Ariella storms off and leaves Chance standing there alone. He looks up at the sky, and the clouds now are completely gone as the bright sun shines down on the damaged, blood stained deck of the Red Dawn.

  Chapter 9

  Lost Innocence

  An hour passes as the crew finishes repairing what they can. “Well, that should just about do it.” John says to Ariella as he stands up from a patched hole in the deck.

  “Good work, John.” Ariella says as she looks around the ship. The damage is still evident almost everywhere. She walks up the stairs to the quarterdeck and asks Chris, “How far to the nearest port that can handle repairs?”

  Looking at the map Chris says, “Depending on the wind it's about a half days travel back to South Haven. Or we are about three days from East and West Artos.”

  “Mr. Greythorn,” Ariella calls out. “Your assistance, if you would please.”

  “Of course, Captain,” Fernando says as he ascends the stairs. “How may I help you?”

  “We need repairs, Mr. Greythorn. The question is do we head back to South Haven, or continue around the southern edge. Considering you are the only one who knows where our final destination is, what do you think?”

  “East Artos, Captain. We can retrieve the treasure from there while the repairs are being done.”

  “Very well. We shall make way for East Artos.”

  “Aye, captain.” Chris says.

  “I have some business to attend to now, gentlemen,” Ariella says to them. “If you will excuse me.” She turns and enters the Captain's lounge. Inside Chance is looking at maps that are spread out over the table. He is reading them with Torgus. Marie is sweeping the floor of the mess caused by the orcneas.

  “It is just as I feared,” Chance says to Torgus, “According to these orcnea battle plans, there are several dozen of these ships, and it looks as though they plan to keep the entire east coast blockaded.”

  Torgus looks up and says, “I think I found the next step in their plans.” He hands Chance a parchment.

  Chance takes the scroll and says, “It's been a while since I read orcneish, but unless I am reading this incorrectly it says that at the first moon the first group of ground troops will land and take bac
k the north. These are orders to protect the supply and transport ships at all costs.” Chance looks up at Ariella and says, “That's in three days!”

  Torgus says, “Looks like there is more,” He hands Chance another scroll.

  Chance reads it aloud, “On the second moon the rest of the troops will arrive and they will begin the invasion starting with the city of Northwind.”

  “Looks like we are at war after all,” Torgus says.

  “I have to go back and warn Arioch,” Chance says as he begins to gather up the plans.

  “Torgus, would you give us a moment, please?” Ariella asks.

  “Of course, Captain,” Torgus says. He gets to the door, but before he leaves he turns and says, “I must apologize again to the two of you.” He looks down at the floor then continues, “I am very sorry for my part in deceiving you both. I hope that you understand that it was not my wish to keep those letters from you.”

  “Thank you, Torgus,” Ariella says.

  Chance nods to Torgus and says, “It is not your fault, my friend.”

  “Thank you,” Torgus replies as he leaves closing the door behind him.

  Marie sets down her broom and says, “I am going to go get some fresh air.” She then leaves quickly behind Torgus.

  Now only Ariella and Chance remain. Chance finishes putting the last of the parchments in a small bag. Ariella walks slowly up to him, unsure what to say. She reaches for him and takes his hand. He stops what he is doing and they stand there in silence. He is unable to look at her as she stands before him staring up and waiting for him to say or do anything.

  Chance says to her, “I am sorry about what I said earlier.”

  “I don't want to talk about that anymore,” Ariella says. Chance looks at her with teary eyes. She places her hand on his cheek and says, “What is wrong?”

  “It has been twenty years, Ariella, and even now as we stand here, I cannot have you,” Chance says. He then takes her hand from his cheek and kisses it.

  “Why?” Ariella asks. “We are together again. My father can no longer keep us apart.”