Sea Queen
Page 19
Talon feared for her all the more.
“Thank you, Grimald. Must you go? You would be a great help in the liberation of the Volnoss Skomm.”
The lich looked out over the ocean and seemed to consider the offer.
“No. I have had enough of this world of violence. I wish only for peace in the eternal void.”
Talon held the necklace out before him. “Very well. I hereby release you. You are free.”
The lich pulled his hood back as his body began to flake away in the wind. He extended a vein riddled hand and Talon shook it.
“You are a good man, Talon Windwalker,” he said as his body was taken by the wind like the ashes of an urn. “Be careful that power doesn’t change you,” came his voice on the breeze.
Talon thought about the man’s words as they sailed toward the setting moon. He knew they rang with truth. All the years of running, hiding, wishing he could fight back—all of it came rushing back when he fought with Kyrr and Chief at his side.
No, he thought, I’m not like that, I’m nothing like Captain McGillus. I’m nothing like Fylkin or the traitorous Vaka. I fight for something more than power. That is why Azzeal chose me.
He told himself so, but a nagging voice in his head told him he was lying. He turned his mind to other troubles. They would be hunted now. He didn’t know how long it would take for word of their escape to get out, and he was vague on his knowledge of sailing—how long it would take to reach Isladon and so forth. And all the while he sailed south, farther away from Akkeri. In the excitement of the rebellion he had forgotten all about her—a fact that disturbed him.
Surely she hadn’t forgotten about him.
Talon found what sleep he could there on the quarter deck. The wheelman ensured him he could handle the course, and even Brakk, who Talon had tasked with overseeing the feeding of all the former slaves, ensured him they would get on fine, but he was reluctant to return to his quarters.
The rising sun roused him from his sleep and he rose slowly, his every joint and muscle screaming in pain. The ring had its benefits, but dealing with the many injuries that went unnoticed whilst using it proved difficult.
He went with Torrance down to the mess hall and ate a heaping portion of gruel and ham. While they ate, Torrance gestured to him and grinned. “You haven’t asked me about your winnings.”
Talon shrugged. “I’m more concerned about your allegiance.”
Torrance seemed hurt. “What was I to do when they attacked Argath? I did the same as you. I waited. And when you came back I fought for our side. What else you want?”
“I’m sorry,” said Talon. He didn’t remember seeing Torrance fighting, but then things had been chaotic.
“Anyway,” he said, forlorn, “I bet all your winnings every fight. Was a bikkja to move that much gold, but I did. And you’re left with more than two-hundred, my cut being taken out of course.”
“Thanks, Torrance,” said Talon.
Around noon Argath returned to the deck and joined Talon at the bow as the ship sliced through the small waves, her sails full of the southerly winds. He put his weight on a sturdy, knotted cane, but his face shown only with pride and joy. He took a deep lungful of the air and exhaled slowly.
“Not many Skomm have ever smelled that,” he said.
“Smelled what?” asked Talon.
“Freedom.”
Talon smiled. He glanced at Chief, who sat near the rail scratching himself with his hind paw. Alert to Talon’s attention, the wolf strode forth with tail wagging, nudging him on the hand for a pet.
“Nothing ever smelled so sweet,” Talon concurred. “Listen, I don’t want to be captain of this ship. My road leads elsewhere. Besides, the men respect you. You should be captain.”
Argath put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Talon Windwalker.”
The night passed without incident, and Talon got what sleep he could in his quarters. He slept fitfully. The faces of those he had killed haunted his dreams, and he woke more than once thinking the Sea Queen was being boarded.
When morning came the mess hall was in chaos. The slaves were being held back by the gladiators, who insisted they go first. Talon suspected many of them were loyal to McGillus at heart. They still saw their people as inferior, and themselves, somehow superior. When one of the gladiators pushed Crag, sending him crashing to the floor, Talon snapped.
“Hey!” he screamed, and the entire room turned to regard him. “Leave him alone.” He walked over and helped Crag to his feet. “This man might seem simple to you, but he tossed nearly a dozen Agorans from this ship. He’s got every right to eat as you do.”
The man who had pushed him bowed his head. “Sorry, Windwalker.”
Talon took pause at the rare show of respect, but then raised his head high. They had every reason to respect him.
“Every Skomm here is equal,” he continued. “Pride, greed, cruelty…these are the things that got us here in the first place. If you can’t be good to your own people, you have no place on this feikin ship any longer.”
“Come on, keep the line movin’!” yelled the cook from the window. The Skomm—gladiator and slave alike—waited patiently in a neat line after that.
Crag stood towering next to Talon, staring down at him with a stupid grin.
Finally Talon gave in with a laugh and asked what he was looking at.
“Ain’t no one ever stuck up for me much before,” he said shyly.
Talon shrugged. “You’re good people, better than most. You deserve the same as anyone else.”
Crag nodded understanding, though Talon could see his wheels turning.
“You a smart man, ain’t you, Talon?”
“Compassion ain’t smart or stupid, it’s just right.”
“Yeah.” Crag nodded. “You a smart man.”
They met no resistance as they sailed south. If an Eldalonian ship was spotted, the crewmen called down from the crow’s nest and they steered wide. For many days they sailed south without incident, and when the Isladonian city of Del’Harred came into view, the crew rejoiced.
“We made it,” Talon mused as he stood with Chief and Argath at the helm.
Argath nodded. “You should be proud. You’ve done what no Skomm has done before.”
Talon gave him a dubious look. “The credit isn’t mine alone.”
Argath nodded stubbornly. “Well, a good portion is.”
“What will you do now?” Talon asked.
“If the tales are true, the Isladonians will take in the slaves and tend to ‘em better than we can. I intend to keep those who want to stay on. Once we sell some of the captain’s loot we’ll have enough supplies for the trip back to Volnoss.”
“Back to Volnoss?” Talon asked, perplexed.
“Of course. Like I said; I intend to buy as many Skomm as possible—show ‘em freedom. I’ll gather as many as Isladon will take. This was my father’s dream, and so it will be my life’s work. It’s…it’s the least I can do.”
Talon glanced at Argath, his eyes shimmering at the memory of his father. “He didn’t hold you responsible, you know.”
Argath turned away to stare out at the ocean.
“He said your mother’s death…it wasn’t your fault,” Talon added.
Argath’s head sagged and he shuddered a few times before raising his head and wiping his eyes. “You’re words are a gift,” he said, smiling.
They docked in the Del-Harred harbor and Argath led the landing party ashore while Talon stayed back with the others. They returned shortly before nightfall with good tidings that the former slaves would be taken in by the city.
In the morning those Skomm who’d decided to make a future in Isladon unloaded. Talon and Argath saw them all off as they loaded into rowboats. Many stopped to thank the mighty Windwalker and the fair Captain Argath, who accepted their thanks graciously.
Talon had set out to rescue Akkeri and ended up freeing more than a hundred Skomm from slavery. He asked himself which he
would rather have done and was ashamed of the answer. His amma said he was destined for great things, and surely this was one of them. Rescuing your lover was far less noble than freeing so many, yet he would have simply rather found her, ran away, and lived a peaceful life. As much as his life had scared him before, the thought that he had a larger part yet to play scared him even more. He was no hero, no warrior. He was just Talon, a runt of a Vald who had been spared the Skomm village by his amma just to end up there anyway.
Though he had Chief and Kyrr, power does not a hero make. He had looked up to tales of heroes his entire childhood, and to think that he could be mentioned in the same breath as some of them was absurd. But Argath had been right. It was mostly due to him that the Skomm were free.
The last of the Skomm left on the rowboats and Talon turned to find Crag standing behind him, looking apprehensive.
“Crag…why haven’t you gone with the others?” Talon asked.
“Talon stays on the ship, so does Crag,” he said stubbornly, as though he knew there would be some objection.
“I appreciate that, but my path leads far away.”
The giant broke down and began to cry.
Talon glanced to Argath, who only shrugged.
“It’s not that I don’t want you, Crag. I would love to have you with me. But it’s too dangerous for you where I’m headed.”
The big man wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand repeatedly. “They took Forrest up top. I can’t find him anywhere. He was my folkhagi—he helped me. Sometimes…sometimes you know, I need help.”
Argath stepped forward and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Forrest was my father. If he was your friend then you have a place on my crew…if you want it.”
Crag stopped wiping his eyes and stared. “You Forrest’s boy?” he asked with a sniffle.
Argath nodded.
Crag suddenly reached out and gave the new captain a big hug. “Where is he, where’s your fadir?” he asked excitedly.
“He was killed trying to free the slaves,” Argath told him.
Crag nodded as if he knew, and lowered his head and shuddered.
“It’s alright Crag,” said Talon, “he died for what he believed in. He was an honorable man.”
Crag nodded and wiped his nose. He regarded Argath hopefully. “You say I can stay on with you—be a sailor like you?”
Argath chuckled. “Indeed. But there will be work to do. I could use a man your size.”
Crag nodded dramatically. “Crag can do big work,” he said seriously. Then a shadow crossed his face. “But…I don’t have to hurt no one, do I?”
“It may come to that. I expect you to defend yourself and this ship if we’re attacked.”
“Alright,” said Crag reluctantly.
“Go on down to the mess hall, sailor. Get yourself some grub.”
“Yes sir, Captain Folkhagi,” said Crag. He turned to Talon. “You gotta eat?”
“You go ahead, Crag. I need to talk to the captain.”
Talon and Argath looked out over the harbor and watched the last rowboat make landfall as Crag made his way below deck.
“What will become of them?” Talon asked.
“Thodin knows,” said Argath, leaning on the rail to take the weight off his injured foot. “But the governor of the city ensured me they would be safe. They’re a hard working lot—they’ll find their way.”
“And the slaver?”
“She ain’t a slaver no more, and she ain’t called the Sea Queen no more either. I’ve renamed her Freedom. Like I said, I’m headin’ back to Volnoss and buyin’ as many Skomm as I can, then I’ll be bringin’ ‘em back here.” He glanced at Talon. “You stayin’ on?”
Talon nodded. “As far as Shierdon, if you don’t mind having me.”
“Goin’ to find your lass, eh?”
“She was sold to the royals—that’s where I’m headin’.”
“Well then,” said Argath tapping the rail and putting his crutch under arm. “Let’s get this ship sailin’. We got a long trip yet before we reach Shierdon.”
They set sail shortly after.
Talon worked alongside the other Skomm who had decided to stay on. His spirits were high. He had freed the slaves—given them a chance at a good life.
And he now had a solid lead to find Akkeri.
His journey had taken him halfway across Agora. He had become a gladiator, a sailor, and now he was likely a wanted pirate.
“If only you could see me now, Jahsin,” he said into the wind.
He watched the big wide world open up before him from his perch in the crow’s nest, and smiled to himself as they made their way into the unknown.
He had Chief and Kyrr, and sailed on a ship of liberated Skomm gladiators, every mile bringing him closer to Akkeri.
THE END
Dear Reader,
Thank you for purchasing Sea Queen. If you liked the book, please tell everyone you know on Facebook and Twitter and so on. It is fans like you that make all of this possible.
I want to thank everyone who has helped to make this far-fetched dream a reality. To everyone who has told friends, tweeted, shared on Goodreads, posted on FB, left a review, and enjoyed my books, thank you.
I would love to hear what you thought of the story, so please feel free to leave a review on Amazon. I also invite you to join the Legends of Agora mailing list for updates on upcoming book releases, contests, giveaways, author blog, and all things Agora.
I am a self-published author and do not have the luxury of a team of promoters at my disposal. You are my team, and I appreciate your efforts and support.
If you are new to Agora I invite you to read the book that started it all, Whill of Agora. I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you once again for your support,
With humble appreciation,
Michael James Ploof
Table of Contents
The Windwalker Archive
Books by Michael James Ploof
Chapter 1
Where the World Begins
Chapter 2
Stranger in a strange land
Chapter 3
The Runaways
Chapter 4
The Sleepy Sailor
Chapter 5
Righteous Anger
Chapter 6
The Keipr
Chapter 7
The Cave of Dreams
Chapter 8
The Curse of Power
Chapter 9
Greyson Coursers
Chapter 10
Captain McGillus
Chapter 11
The Pit
Chapter 12
Kill Or Be Killed, Sell Or Be Sold
Chapter 13
Drengr Rekkr
Chapter 14
Hornhollow
Chapter 15
Talon the Righteous
Chapter 16
Gill and Gammond
Chapter 17
Folkhagi
Chapter 18
Skomm Born
Chapter 19
Fendale
Chapter 20
News of Akkeri
Chapter 21
A Night of Black Waters
Chapter 22
Revenge
Chapter 23
The Flight of the Sea Queen
Chapter 24
A Dream
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Windwalker Archive
Books by Michael James Ploof
Chapter 1
Where the World Begins
Chapter 2
Stranger in a strange land
Chapter 3
The Runaways
Chapter 4
The Sleepy Sailor
Chapter 5
Righteous Anger
Chapter 6
The Keipr
Chapter 7
The Cave of Dreams
Chapter 8
The Curse of Power
&n
bsp; Chapter 9
Greyson Coursers
Chapter 10
Captain McGillus
Chapter 11
The Pit
Chapter 12
Kill Or Be Killed, Sell Or Be Sold
Chapter 13
Drengr Rekkr
Chapter 14
Hornhollow
Chapter 15
Talon the Righteous
Chapter 16
Gill and Gammond
Chapter 17
Folkhagi
Chapter 18
Skomm Born
Chapter 19
Fendale
Chapter 20
News of Akkeri
Chapter 21
A Night of Black Waters
Chapter 22
Revenge
Chapter 23
The Flight of the Sea Queen
Chapter 24
A Dream
Table of Contents