The Voyage of the Miscreation #1: The Voyage Begins

by Kristen S. Walker

sleeves. “Their largest cabin is probably the size of my closet back at the Academy. Wouldn’t it be better for me to be on a warship, with a full company of mercenaries? They’re maneuverable.”

  Omalia patted his shoulder in the same manner she used to reassure her research subjects. “You’re not starting a war, you’re hunting monsters. My sources assured me that these are some of the best monster hunters in the business. When you want something done right, you go to the experts.”

  “I don’t put much faith in ‘the best’ if they can only afford—” He gestured to the boat. “That.”

  Duke Galenos, an imposing figure with his bulky frame and midnight-black skin, came up on Ameyron’s other side and clapped the mage on the shoulder. “All set for your trip?” His deep voice boomed out across the water.

  “Ye—yes, my lord.” Ameyron tried not to flinch away from the familiar greeting. He had helped the former mercenary warlord take control of Kyratia, and in return, the new duke served as the mages’ patron. That patronage funded both the modernization of the Academy and this research voyage, so he wouldn’t dare show disrespect. “I believe they’ve just finished loading all of my belongings.” He gestured to the dock hands.

  Galenos nodded. “Good, good. Then shall I introduce you to your new team? The captain is an old friend of mine.”

  Ameyron glanced at Omalia, suddenly desperate. She was younger and less experienced in research than him, but she was far better at dealing with people, which was why she’d been chosen to lead the reformed Academy while he left on this expedition.

  Once again she came to his rescue, taking his arm and pushing him forward with a warm smile. “Go on, I’ve just got a few more details to settle, and then I have to run back to my office. I’ll be looking forward to your reports. Smooth sailing.”

  Ameyron watched the other mage leave without a look back, and felt a knot growing in the pit of his stomach. Why had he let her talk him into this trip? A year ago, it had seemed like a brilliant idea to observe monsters in their natural environment and get the raw data he needed to form new theories about their origins. So many scholars before him had relied on second-hand accounts or the convenience of whichever monster dwelled closest to them; the results were conflicting studies with a variety of methodologies and no way to compare one to another. But faced with the run-down boat and the prospect of traveling for months on end, only to come face-to-face with dangerous beasts, his curiosity about the true nature of monsters suddenly paled.

  Galenos shook him out of his reverie by leading him down the dock to the end of the gangplank.

  Two women stood next to the boat, both taller than him, with the brown skin of local Seirenians, but there the similarities ended. One was beautiful and well-dressed, in a bright blue silk dress with a plunging neckline and her hair in loose curls around her bare shoulders. The other was rough and work-worn, with short hair slicked back, wearing trousers and a leather brown longcoat that had seen better days. The lovely one had her hand on the dirty one’s arm, as if she were restraining her crewmember from bolting down the docks.

  The Duke gestured to the dirty woman. “This is Mynta, captain of Miscreation. Back in her mercenary days, we crossed paths on the battlefield a few times, and I can attest to her skill with many weapons.” He gave a short laugh. “Captain, this is Ameyron, a mage in my employ and scholar at Jirou Kolisa Academy of Magic. Show him what you know about handling monsters.”

  Ameyron looked at Mynta, then back at Galenos, checking to see if the man was joking. No way was this scruffy woman the legendary monster hunter he’d heard so much about. “C-captain?” he stuttered.

  Mynta saluted stiffly, showing a flash of her military training. “At your service, sir. Welcome aboard.”

  “Thank you,” he managed to say, realizing that he was already acting rude. He looked over at the other woman. “And this is…?”

  “Genara,” she said with a smile, stepping forward to kiss him on the cheeks in greeting. “I’m not really part of the crew, I’m just a musician who charters passage on the ship. The others are all making ready to sail.”

  Mynta relaxed into a crooked grin. “Genara gives us a measure of respectability.”

  Ameyron raised his eyebrows. “A musician,” he repeated weakly. He had no idea what use a musician would be on a scientific expedition. Like anything else that didn’t help his research, he immediately dismissed her from his mind.

  He turned to look down the docks. “The rest of my team should be arriving soon.”

  Mynta coughed. “Ah, yes, we’ve already received their luggage. The physician and the priest?”

  Galenos nodded. “Yes. A Deyonist priest who’s already had some experience in handling monsters. And I thought it would be wise to have a physician aboard in case of any…accidents.”

  They didn’t have to wait long before both men arrived together. Duke Galenos, who had chosen them personally, stepped forward to make the introductions again.

  “Eirenaios has only been in the city for a few years, but he was top of his class at the Academy in Petropouli.” Galenos rested his hand on the shoulder of the shorter man. “I can’t spare one of my personal physicians, but he comes highly recommended.”

  Mynta raised her eyebrows. “I’ve made sure that every member of my crew is treated in emergency triage, so a surgeon is a little unnecessary.” She glanced sidelong at Ameyron, then down at his expansive waistline. “Unless some member of your team has exceptional health problems.”

  Ameyron frowned and fussed with his robe. Two years of sitting behind a desk and eating well had caused him to put on some weight, but he was still a youngish man in his prime. “I have no health conditions,” he sputtered.

  Galenos raised a hand to interrupt them both. “Better to be safe than sorry when you’re dealing with monsters.” He turned to the other man. “Benu was raised in the local temple of Deyos, and Father Loranos sends him with his blessing.”

  Benu stepped forward and cupped his hand to his forehead, palm up, in the symbol of Deyos. He was tall and widely built, with the same broad nose and protruding forehead as Galenos and other Khazeem, but his skin was lighter, and his eyes were bright green. His mixed racial features were similar to those of Galenos’s infant daughter from his Seirenian wife, Korinna.

  Ameyron returned the gesture without enthusiasm. He was Deyonist by default, but he usually only made it to the temple for major holidays. However, something Galenos had said earlier caught his interest. “You say you’ve had experience with monsters before?”

  Benu bowed his head respectfully. “Yes. Every year, I travel outside of the city to bless the local fields for planting, and a few times, I’ve helped farmers reclaim their land from Wyld encroachment. I’ve assisted the mercenaries with driving out common monsters like spiderwolves and trapflowers.”

  Ameyron shuddered at the memory of being attacked by a pack of the half-wolf, half-spider monstrosities, but Mynta brightened up. “Spiderwolves, huh? Sneaky buggers. Have to burn the nests to make sure you get ‘em all.”

  The priest nodded knowingly. “Galenos had the idea of attacking them from a distance, with fire arrows,” he said, jerking a thumb at the warlord-turned-duke. “I mainly used my prayers to contain the fire, so we wouldn’t set the whole countryside ablaze.”

  Mynta turned to Galenos with more technical questions about monster hunting, and Benu chimed in with more anecdotes, but Ameyron couldn’t follow the discussion of different weapons and tactics. His eyes glazed over, and his mind drifted to packing earlier. Was he certain that he’d packed all of the equipment he needed? What if there was something he’d forgotten? He began digging through his pockets for the list he’d made.

  Galenos turned back to Ameyron and cleared his throat. “You have one member of your team still to come, yes?”

  Ameyron looked up with a start. “Aristia,” he blurted out.

  A slight girl in rough-spun tunic and leggings stepped out from behind a nearby barrel.
“Here, master. I—I didn’t want to interrupt.” She hung her head and looked up at the group of adults through her hair.

  Ameyron beckoned her closer. “Come here, little one. Have you got everything you need?”

  Aristia gave him a gap-toothed smile and held up a small bag. “Ma packed it for me this mornin’.”

  Mynta turned around with a scowl. “I never agreed to take any children on my ship.”

  The girl started to shrink away, but Ameyron put his hand on Aristia’s shoulder and kept her next to him. “Aristia is eleven, and I’m taking her as my apprentice,” he declared. Eleven or twelve was the customary age for youths to begin formal schooling or apprenticeship in a craft.

  The captain’s scowl deepened. “She doesn’t look eleven.”

  Ameyron stood firm. “Small for her age.”

  Galenos stepped forward to intervene once again. “I can vouch that Aristia is very well-behaved. Her family is in my employ.”

  “There’s no room for her on board,” Mynta said flatly.

  Ameyron took the girl’s bag and slung it over his shoulder. “She’s staying in the cabin with me. May we see our quarters, please?”

  The captain still looked unhappy, but she said nothing more, just turned and walked up the gangplank without a look back. Her heavy boots echoed as she disappeared farther down the deck.

  Galenos turned to the other woman, the musician