Trials of a Champion

by Thomas O'Gorman

  “I just had a message from the captain of the AMS Invader. All passengers and cargo are loaded, they are only waiting on us,” Jaunty said.

  “Let’s not keep them waiting then,” Winn said.

  They left the hotel and made the ten-minute walk to the dock where the AMS Invader was berthed.

  “Permission to come aboard,” Winn yelled.

  “Permission granted,” said a young-looking man wearing a captain’s uniform.

  Winn walked up the gangplank and Jaunty followed.

  “Welcome aboard. I am Capitan Caspon, it is a privilege and an honor to have you aboard my vessel, sir.”

  You mean the King’s vessel. He doesn’t look much older than I am. I wonder how much experience he has.

  “The honor is all mine,” Winn said. “This ship looks almost exactly like one I have been aboard before. Is this a caravel?”

  “You know your ships I see,” Caspon said. “Yes, she is a small ship, but she is fast. We made the voyage from Azure in five hours.”

  “Impressive captain.”

  “Please call me Kavil, I presume I can call you Winn?”

  “Of course, please do.”

  “Thank you, Winn. I must prepare to sail, please make yourself comfortable in my cabin if you like, or if you want to explore, I give you run of the ship.”

  “Thank you, Kavil.”

  Jaunty turned to Winn when Kavil left to make his way to the ship’s wheel. “What is up with that guy? He is a jumped-up young arrogant bastard.”

  “Jaunty I am sure that is what people say about me. You can’t dislike him just because he is young.”

  “It isn’t that. He is an overfamiliar boot licker, that is what I don’t like about him.”

  “The young are not as formal as the old, Jaunty. This is probably his first mission as captain, and he doesn’t know quite how to act.”

  “I believe that.”

  Winn and Jaunty moved along the bulkhead until they found an out of the way place they could watch the sailors work and maneuver the ship out from the dock. After thirty minutes all the sails were unfurled before a steady wind and they were gliding over the sea.

  “Come on Jaunty, let’s go check on the marines and the soldiers that were unlucky enough to catch the last ship home.” Jaunty and Winn walked toward the front of the ship and climbed a ladder to get to the forecastle. When they entered the room, they saw only twenty soldiers there and no marines. All the soldiers stood at attention. They were not the best-looking group of soldiers Winn had ever seen. In fact, most of them were fat and unkempt.

  “What unit are you with?” Winn asked.

  “We are the 88th Support Platoon. We are the best cooks in the army, Sir! I am the leader of this motley group, Sergeant Pastic,” The soldier in front said.

  “Sergeant, a pleasure. May I ask if any of you have ever fought in a battle, skirmish, or other organized combat?”

  The room was silent.

  “I take that as a no,” Winn said. “Do you know if there are any marines or other soldiers aboard?” Winn asked.

  “We haven’t seen anyone else other than you, sir,” said Sergeant Pastic.

  Winn turned and walked briskly out of the room and made for the ship’s wheel. Jaunty rushed to catch up. Winn flew down the ladder to the main deck and almost ran across the deck and flew up the ladder to the ship’s wheel where Captain Caspon was humming to himself.

  “Winn, how do you like the view up here?” Caspon asked.

  “Captain, do you realize that we have no proper soldiers on board? Where are the marines?”

  “I told our contingent of marines they could leave on an earlier ship. They were anxious to go and with the delays they were getting unruly. Plus, I figured I would have soldiers on board.”

  “You don’t. It was a grave error in judgement to let the marines go to another ship. We have no defense if we are attacked.”

  “Relax Winn, there have been no attacks on any of the transports, and we are faster than any of the enemy’s ships, no one can catch us to attack us.”

  Winn suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Caspon by his lapels. “No one tells me to relax. You idiot, the enemy has been seen in these waters very recently. Why on Arath would you not protect your ship appropriately? This is your first voyage as captain, isn’t it?”

  Caspon turned beat red and he couldn’t look Winn in the eye. “Yes colonel, it is my first voyage as captain.”

  “Pray to the Almighty that there is no enemy ship within 500 miles of here. We are sitting ducks if they catch us.”

  “I promise you if there is one, they won’t catch us.”

  “I will hold you to it. I would not like to die today.”

  A couple of hours passed without any issues. The wind held, and the ocean was clear of any ships. Caspon invited Winn and Jaunty to an early dinner in the officers dining room. Winn accepted and Caspon provided fresh duck with arugula and borlotti beans. It was delicious.

  “An excellent meal,” Winn said. “Kavil please tell me how you came to be a captain.”

  “I would be happy to. I was serving as first officer aboard the AMS Dauntless and we were patrolling the Gulf of Skal looking for Menegar transports. A fog settled in and engulfed what seemed like the whole ocean. By happenstance a Menegar ship sailed within a few span of us, and we threw our grappling hooks and latched on to them. I led the marines in an attack, and the Menegars were mostly asleep and not ready for us. We routed them and took their ship as a prize. We were the only ship in the Aviel or Skal fleets to capture a Menegar ship. The brass was so impressed that they promoted me. My first mission was the honor of escorting you, Aviel’s greatest hero, home.”

  “It was very brave of you to lead an attack against Menegars, even if they were sleeping,” Jaunty said.

  Caspon was about to reply when there was a knock on the door and a sailor stepped in the room.

  “Sir a thick fog is on the horizon and it stretches as far as the eye can see. Shall we attempt to go around it?”

  “No, a little fog doesn’t scare me,” said Caspon.

  “Kavil, I am not in a rush to get home, perhaps if we try to find an alternate route it would be better,” said Winn.

  “Winn, the fog could stretch on for hundreds of miles,” said Caspon. “If we try to get around it, we could be stuck out on the open sea in enemy waters overnight. Which would you rather do, risk a day or more on the open sea or sail through a little fog? By the way we sail in fog all the time, it isn’t a big deal.”

  “Captain I don’t mean to question your expertise. Of course, you must do what you see fit. Please allow me to note that the Menegars all sailed under fog to avoid detection by our fleet. I believe that supernatural forces were involved, and they might be involved here.”

  “Winn if you will allow me, I say nonsense. The Menegar just got lucky and a fog happened to be there when they sailed, or more likely they waited on a fog to sail. Fogs do happen this time of year. Trust me no god or dark wizard drummed up this fog.”

  Winn nodded his head, but he did not feel good about the situation. They finished with dinner and they all got up to go back on deck. Caspon wanted to be at the wheel in the fog and Winn wanted to be on the lookout, though there was nothing to see in the thick fog.

  “This is eerie,” Jaunty said. “It is like walking around with your eyes closed. I have this feeling we are going to bump into something.”

  “As do I, something that wants to kill us,” Winn said.

  “Why do you think that?” Jaunty asked.

  “It feels all wrong Jaunty.”

  They sailed for another hour and were about to leave LaVore waters when it happened. Boom! A ship came out of nowhere and rammed the starboard bow of the AMS Invader. Winn and Jaunty fell over from the impact, but quickly got up to see grappling hooks being thrown over the bulkhead on the starboard side. Boom! On the port side of the AMS Invader another ship slammed up against her. Grappling hooks came out of th
e fog on the port side and in seconds two Menegar ships appeared on either side of the ship and Menegars started streaming aboard.

  Winn didn’t have Slicer and Breaker, but he did have his butterfly knives and he pulled them out of his boots just as Jaunty drew his sword. They jumped down on the main deck and positioned themselves back to back as a hoard of Menegars rushed them from both sides.

  “It was a fun ride Winn,” said Jaunty. “You’re the best friend a man could have. Oh, your breath stinks, I have been meaning to tell you that.”

  “Jaunty, I love you brother,” said Winn. “If I am going to go out, I would want it to be with you.”

  “Why not by yourself?”

  The Menegar were on them. Winn and Jaunty killed the first ten or so, but there were so many they pressed them in until Winn and Jaunty couldn’t move. Winn grew frustrated and exploded into the air and hovered 15 span above their heads. They spread out and showed Winn that they had Jaunty by each limb and a knife to his throat. Winn didn’t hesitate, though he could have taken his chances in the ocean. He floated back down and let the Menegars take him. There were shouts of triumph when they took his butterfly knifes away and grabbed him by every limb. Winn was confused, why didn’t they kill him and Jaunty?

  The Menegar lugged them across the bulkheads of the attached ships onto the Menegar vessel on the starboard side of the AMS Invader. They were taken immediately below decks and thrown into the brig of the ship. Jaunty was knocked smooth out and Winn tried to shake him awake, but to no avail. Winn sat down and leaned against the bars. He wondered what the hell they were in for. The Avish and the Menegars hated each other more than any race hated any other. They fought in more wars and killed more of each other than any other two races throughout history. Winn knew he and Jaunty were in deep trouble. He would have thought the Menegars would have killed him on sight. Why they captured them was a mystery to Winn, but he knew one thing, it was not a good sign.

  Winn didn’t see a guard or sailor the rest of the day. He was aching from thirst, but he realized that he wasn’t likely to be treated well enough to be given proper provisions by the Menegar. He hoped that they would get water at some point of the journey, because he knew it would be three days before they landed in Menegar, if that indeed was where they were going.

  Evening turned into night, and Winn had just drifted off to sleep when he was awakened by moaning sounds.

  “Oh, blessed virgins of Karnif, my head has never hurt this badly,” Jaunty said.

  “I tried to wake you earlier, but you were out hard,” Winn said.

  “Winn, what the fuck is going on? It is like the Menegars knew what ship we were on and knew exactly where we would sail and ambushed us in the fog.”

  “It was more than like that, it is exactly what happened. They had to have a spy. I don’t think the spy was on our ship though, because they killed everyone on board.”

  “How did they know where we would be in the fog?”

  “The only way I can think of is if they had divine intervention. I believe the God of the Sea, Sidean, has been helping the Menegar. Only he could have led them directly to us in that fog.”

  “How many gods are against us?”

  “I believe only two, but I think the fallen angel, Jezel is against us as well. That is a powerful triumvirate that stands against us.”

  “What of the gods and angels that are on our side?”

  “I don’t know Jaunty. I feel like they have left us to our fates. They are silent in my mind, and if they didn’t want us to be captured by the Menegar, they would have intervened.”

  “What if they were taken by surprise, and they are mustering to come help soon?”

  “Jaunty, they see the future, they knew this was going to happen. They have abandoned us, and I don’t know why.”

  “Winn, what about the promise the Almighty made you, that you would be the Champion of Aviel?”

  “Jaunty, I have been lauded as the Champion of Aviel already. What if I fulfilled my purpose and now we are left to be fodder for the Menegar by a thankless Almighty and a fickle bunch of gods.”

  “Winn, you can’t believe that. The Almighty will protect us.”

  “I don’t see it. This is an act of betrayal by the Almighty. We have been forsaken. It is the only explanation of how our enemies captured us so easily. Now we are at the mercy of the Menegar. A race that is merciless.”

  Jaunty was silent. He had passed back out. Winn tried to sleep but his anger at being captured kept him awake until dawn broke.

  Shortly after the sun rose, four Menegar came into the brig and grabbed Winn and Jaunty and drug them out onto the main deck. Winn blinked in the sunlight and Jaunty was rubbing his head because it still ached terribly. Winn noticed they were on the lowest, or main deck and the whole company of the ship was assembled around them. From the upper deck, a Menegar dressed in regalia addressed them.

  “Filthy humans, do you understand me?”

  “I do,” said Winn.

  “Good, I would never stoop so low as to speak Avish, and LaVorian makes me want to sick up. I am Captain Rousk, master of this vessel and all upon it, including you two bastards. I have called assembly today because eight of my crew were killed by your hands, and there must be atonement. Though I was ordered to bring you two in alive but unhurt, my command knows that I don’t always follow orders to the letter. In fact, I am known to ignore certain orders, or act despite them altogether. This means I don’t give two shits if both of you die on this ship. In fact, I would be considered a hero for killing the dreaded Delver Kide and his top aide, Johnny Hill. However, I admit certain parties, one none other than King Ajani, mind you, would be pissed if you two were to die before you arrived at Jabari City. I don’t want to get on the King’s bad side, so I won’t kill you. However, I am willing to risk his wrath regarding the unharmed part. So, I am going to let my men decide your punishment for killing their brothers. The choices of punishment for you are lashes, keelhauling, or a beating. Brothers, which shall it be?”

  “Keelhaul, Keelhaul, Keelhaul,” The group shouted in unison.

  “Keelhauling it is,” said Rousk. “Bring them to the bow.”

  The Menegars holding Winn and Jaunty brought them to the front of the ship. They tied a section of rope around their hands and another one around their feet.

  “In case you don’t know how keelhauling works, we are going to throw you in the water and drag you along the entire length of the ship’s hull. Once we pull you up at the stern, you will be a bloody pulp from being dragged over the barnacles attached to the bottom of the ship and will have a good chance of dying. Ready men? Throw them in.”

  Winn and Jaunty were thrown in the water from the front of the ship. Sailors stationed at the stern started pulling on the ropes that were attached to Winn and Jaunty. They quickly went under water and were dragged beneath the ship. When they popped up out of the water behind the ship and were dragged up on deck, the captain, who had hurried along to reach the stern, couldn’t believe his eyes. Both Jaunty and Winn were uncut and not bleeding anywhere.

  “Do it again!” Rousk yelled. The sailors pushed Jaunty and Winn back into the water, and this time they were dragged beneath the ship from the back to the front. Again, when they were pulled onto the deck, they were free of any cuts or scrapes. The sailors started backing away from them and Rousk was flustered.

  “Untie them and put them back in the brig. They are to stay there until we reach Jabari City.”

  After that it was a quiet yet uncomfortable voyage.

  “You can’t deny the Almighty is watching over us now,” said Jaunty.

  “I’m not entirely convinced, Jaunty. Darker days are ahead, and I am afraid we would rather have a few scrapes than what is coming next.”

  Chapter 3: A Special Hell

  June 2, 850 A.A.

  They arrived in Jabari City in midafternoon. Jaunty and Winn were led out of the bowls of the ship and onto the deck. They were amazed at ho
w big the port was. There were docks as far as they eye could see. Most were empty, but some had Menegar ships berthed in them and some of the docks had LaVorian ships occupying them. Winn noticed there was a contingent of about twenty guards and a wagon with bars on all sides and the top waiting dockside with a hideous looking pony like creature to pull it. Winn figured the wagon was for him and Jaunty. Before they were led off the ship, Rousk came up to them.

  “You two are cursed. May your mothers die from a broken heart, your fathers die in cowardice, and may you two die in agony.” Rousk spit on them. “Good riddance.”

  Guards led them down to the men waiting for them on the deck. Those men, who looked more like an elite unit of soldiers, threw Winn and Jaunty into the wagon that looked like a rolling jail cell. The men started marching and one of the soldiers whipped the pony like creature and it started to move along with the men.

  Once they moved on to the other side of the harbor, they started traversing down one of two parallel main roads. There was 10 span of greenspace between the two roads, and each one was a one-way street and they went opposite ways. There was green grass and the occasional monument between the roads, but no one walked on the grass. On the other side of the road were dilapidated looking structures that Winn supposed were housing. Menegar children and adults came out to look at Winn and Jaunty as they rolled by. Many were shouting curses and shaking their fists at them.

  They turned onto a different road, and the structures on the side of the road started to change. They were built better and looked if not attractive then not unpleasant to the eye. There were even some two- and three-story buildings. More Menegars came out to look at them, but this group wasn’t as vocal as the last group. Even so some of them started throwing things at the prisoners.

  “This pony thing stinks to high heaven,” Jaunty said as he moved from the front of the wagon to the back. Just as he sat down someone hit him with a very rotten piece of fruit. “By the gods what is that putrid thing? I can’t get it off me.”