Isle of the Ape

by Jason Halstead

  Chapter 13

  Patrina felt the sand under her hand first. She lowered her feet and crawled forward, clutching Alto's sword and gasping for breath. She made it to the beach and collapsed while the high tide still lapped at her. Her ragged breathing evened out as her exhaustion claimed her.

  Patrina woke to something pinching her in the side. She grunted and rolled over, and then swung her hand to bat away the stick poking her. Except it wasn't a stick; it was a sword. She cried out and yanked her hand back, squeezing it tightly to stop the bleeding in the cut on her palm.

  The kelgryn princess rolled away and grabbed up Alto's sword in hand. Her exhaustion slipped away as the weapon's warmth pulsed through her. She blinked and rose to her knees, sword held out in front of her to keep her attacker at bay. She blinked but couldn't make out her attacker with the sun silhouetting him.

  "Kind of short to be a warrior," she commented when she realized that she was as tall kneeling as the man who'd discovered her was standing.

  She heard him snort and turn around. He walked away from her and farther up the beach, giving her a chance to climb to her feet and risk a glance at herself. She was a dreadful mess: Her legs were soaked and her pants clinging to her skin. Her shirt was dirty and stiff with dried salt. Her hair had come loose from her braid in her panicked swim, leaving it tangled and messy as it fell about her shoulders, back, and chest.

  She looked up again and saw the short man still walking. She hurried after him and shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun. She stopped and gasped when she realized he wasn’t a man or a child—he was a goblin!

  "Ey dere!"

  Patrina looked up from the goblin and saw the mountainous green creature that called himself Thork. The troll shaman was standing next to a hut and using a knife to gut and clean fish on a makeshift table. He waved at her and Patrina was to numb to do anything else but wave back.

  "Yous's got to be hungry after all dat swimming," Thork said. "Thork is making some fish stew. Yous wants some?"

  Patrina nodded. She hadn't eaten since the wild boar Alto had killed two days ago. She stopped. Was it two days? She turned and stared at the crystal blue ocean behind her and then looked around. She was in a lagoon, with short rocky walls on either side of her. The water of the ocean wasn't just at the beach; it flowed out from inland in a channel that came from a dark cave.

  "How long?" Patrina croaked.

  "Da stew? Mebbe an hour?" Thork shrugged.

  "No—" Patrina stopped to cough at the scratch in her throat. It grew worse, forcing her into near convulsions before she looked up and saw the troll standing next to her and offering her a cup. She took it without asking and drank, oozing the fire in her throat and belly.

  "Stupid, yous shouldn't be drinkin' da ocean," the troll advised.

  "I'm kelgryn," Patrina managed before a cramp in her chest made her stop.

  "Yous a human, not a fish," the troll misunderstood her. "Even da kelgryn know beddur dan dat!"

  She focused on breathing and took another sip of the sweet water in the cup. She nodded. "I know," she managed at last. "I was going to say I'm kelgryn, we know better."

  "Den why you do it?"

  Patrina blinked and stared at the normally fearsome creature. She shook her head to clear it. "Thork, why are you here?"

  "Yous was choking," the troll said with furrowed brows. "Mebbe yous hit yous head in da water too?"

  "No!" Patrina groaned and gave up. "Thork, you helped Alto in the past. Many times now."

  The troll nodded and grinned. "Yous gots his sword."

  "Yes, and I need to get it back to him. I need to get to him; he's in trouble. Will you help me?"

  "Yous's scared," the troll stated.

  Patrina wanted to shake her head but something in the feral gaze of the troll stopped her. He was a shaman of Jarook, the patron saint of fear. If anyone knew fear, it was Thork. She nodded. "Yes, I am."

  "Yous not scared of Thork?" he asked.

  "I probably should be," Patrina admitted. "But I'm not. I'm afraid for Alto."

  "Dats not troof," Thork said with a frown.

  "Yes it is!"

  "Nope, not troof. Yous's scared for yous."

  Patrina opened and shut her mouth, confused by his words. "Wait, you mean I'm afraid for me, not for him?"

  "Somefin like dat."

  Patrina's brow creased as she tried to make sense of the troll's words. It wasn't his large teeth induced slurring or his dialect that thwarted her; it was the concept of what he was telling her. "You mean I'm afraid for me if something happens to him. What will I do?" Patrina frowned and saw the troll nod. She repeated herself as she gave thought to it, "What will I do?"

  "Dats da troof," Thork said. He turned and walked over to the large cauldron he had hanging over a fire pit that had coals and flames leaping from the husks of coconuts.

  "I told Carson I wasn't afraid to die, that I was more afraid of living without Alto," Patrina said. "I meant it. I need to get to him and help him. I need your help, Thork. I don't even know where I am on this damn island!"

  Thork grabbed a dented metal plate and punched it twice, denting it further into a bowl. He dipped it into the cauldron and scooped out some of the stew, and then handed it to Patrina. "Eat dis. Dat's da firstist fing yous need."

  Patrina looked at the stew and wrinkled her nose. She jabbed Alto's sword in the sand and stuck her finger in the steaming liquid and blew on it when it proved hot. She tasted it a moment later and gasped. The little morsel of flavor on her tongue captured her and made her mouth water for more. She grabbed at the bits of fish meat and vegetables floating in it and gobbled them down, heedless of the stinging in her fingers and lips from the heat. When she'd eaten the larger chunks and spat out the bones the troll hadn't bothered removing, she tipped it up and slurped up the broth.

  Thork laughed with his usual gusto and then pointed at her. He clapped his hands and said, "Thork was right, yous was hungry!"

  Patrina snapped out of her hunger-induced trance and glanced down at herself. She'd spilled the stew on her shirt and hair. She turned and looked away, embarrassed at her lack of etiquette. Even a kelgryn man fresh from the sea to the table wouldn't have made such a display. She saw Bonky, Thork's goblin assistant, laying on a rock in only a loincloth.

  "Bonky finks a tan is gonna help him wif da ladies," Thork explained, surprising her. "Thork's tryin a new potion dat keeps da sun from burnin so much. Bonky took some already."

  Patrina watched as Bonky lay on the rock, his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. A few moments passed and she noticed that his skin was indeed darkening. It continued to darken before her eyes, passing from pale to tan to golden brown. In moments it continued, shifting into a darker brown and eventually even a black.

  "Screw dat," Thork muttered. "Dats not gonna work."

  "Did he just burn to a crisp?" Patrina gasped.

  "Bonky! Is yous crispy?" Thork shouted.

  The goblin jerked and sat up. He looked down at himself and cried out, and then leapt off the rock and ran around a couple of times before he turned to the ocean and ran into it. He emerged a moment later, spitting and sputtering. The goblin tried to wash the blackness off, to no avail.

  "What did you do?" Patrina breathed.

  Thork shrugged. "Dats why Bonky's da test goblin," he said. "Him gonna be okies."

  "Uh, all right," Patrina said. She forced her eyes off the frantic goblin and back to Thork. "How long was I asleep? It was nearly dusk when I jumped into the ocean."

  "Yous washed up on da beach last night. Bonky said yous was out of it, but yous wasn't waking up. Thork figured maybe sleep was good so Thork left yous dere."

  "I could have drowned!"

  Thork shrugged.

  Patrina blew a deep breath out in a huff and then coughed at the leftover irritation in her chest. She shook her head and tried to run her fingers through her hair. It wasn't happening. "I need a brush," she muttered.

 
; Thork turned and walked into the tall hut on the beach. He came out a minute later and handed her a comb made out of a large clam shell, complete with jewels laid into it. Patrina gasped. "This is beautiful!"

  Thork shrugged and rubbed his bald head. "Keep it."

  Patrina worked it into her hair and grimaced as it ran into tangle after tangle. "I'll be as bald as you by the time I'm done."

  Thork guffawed and turned to look at the river of water that flowed out from the cave to the ocean. "Dats fresh water over dere. Go stick yous head in it."

  Patrina frowned and glanced down at herself. Her clothing, what little remained, was a mess. "I'm a fright," she admitted. "I left my armor behind to help avoid the animals but they still tracked us. I should have left it on."

  "Metal armor?"

  "Dwarven plate," she answered.

  The troll turned to look at the ocean. "Hope yous's a strong swimmer!"

  Patrina covered her open mouth with her hand. "Oh! Good point. Good thing I left it, I guess."

  Thork nodded. "Take a baf. Thork still be here when yous's done."

  "What about Alto? Every minute I wait—"

  "Is dat sword still warm?"

  Patrina reached over and touched his sword. She nodded and even smiled at how comforting it felt to her.

  "Den him's still kickin'. If Alto gets bashed, den dat sword gets bashed."

  "Bashed?"

  Thork picked up his spear from where he'd planted it in the sand and turned to a nearby boulder. He jammed his spear into it, green glowing tip first. The rock cracked loud enough to make Patrina jump and blink. When she looked at it again, she saw it had broken in three pieces. Thork's spear remained unharmed. "Bashed," the troll explained.

  Patrina pulled Alto's sword from the sand and looked at it. It was whole and well; she hoped that meant he was, too. "All right, but I'll hurry."

  The troll shrugged and wandered back into his hut. Patrina walked over to the edge of the river and glanced over her shoulder. She frowned and moved farther inland, following the edge of the river until she was almost in the shadows of the tall mountain next to her. She looked up and gasped. Was this the same mountain that Alto was being held in by the apes?

  Patrina jammed the sword into the ground and took off her weapon belt and boots. She left them on the sandy ground next to Alto's sword. The kelgryn princess stepped into the cold water and fought the urge to cry out. She forced herself to walk in and found the bottom fell away after a few feet. She came back to the surface, sputtering, but still refused to say anything. Thork was nowhere to be seen but she saw Bonky was sitting on the beach hunched over and looking away from her. Sulking over the latest color the troll's magic had changed his skin, no doubt.

  Patrina stripped off her clothing in the water and did her best to wash the salt out and dirt out of it. The river had a good current pushing into the sea, keeping it mostly fresh. She ducked her head under and scrubbed at her hair, wincing as she forced her fingers through the worst of the tangles. She glanced again at the troll and goblin and found them still paying her no attention. She shook her head, amazed to find nobility among such creatures, and then climbed out of the river and onto the shore.

  Patrina wrung out her clothes and put the damp fabric back on. She washed her boots off and then slid them back on her feet before cinching her weapon belt and picking up Alto's sword. She used the comb and forced it through her hair, unsnarling it one painful tug at a time.

  She'd removed the worst of the mess from her long hair by the time she returned to Thork's hut. She could hear him rummaging around inside and, when she walked around to the front of it, she gasped at the light spilling out from inside. "Thork?" she called out, uncertain if she should venture inside.

  "Ey!" Thork called out. The light died away and he stuck his head out. He blinked a few times and then offered her a toothy smile. "Yous boyfriend gots a good handle on him's fear."

  "Uh, I guess he probably does," she agreed.

  "Yous's stinkin wif it," the troll added.

  Patrina sighed. "People keep telling me I stink since I've got here. That's not something a lady is used to dealing with."

  Thork's hearty laughter echoed off the cliff walls and nearly deafened the princess. "Animals can smell fear, even da animals like dat stupid ape."

  "You know Bucky?"

  Thork laughed again. "Bucky? Dat's a stupid name for a stupid monkey. Bucky him is!"

  Patrina offered a weak smile. "So, about Alto? Bucky's got him and our friend Namitus trapped in the castle on the mountain. Can you help me get him?"

  "Firstist, yous gots da wrong weapon," Thork said.

  Patrina frowned and looked at the sword in her hand. "This is Alto's weapon."

  "Thork knows dat, dumdum. Thork made it! Da sword yous got, dat's da wrong weapon for yous."

  "I'm pretty good with it," Patrina said.

  Thork nodded. "Dats cause yous didn't know no beddur. Here, try dis!" The troll ducked back into the hut and emerged a second later with a battle axe that boasted a blade on one side and a spike on the other. It had a shorter spike sticking out of the end of it.

  Patrina took the axe, expecting the weapon to be heavy. She gasped when a pulse of energy shot up her arm and into her chest. It felt like a shock from rubbing her feet on a rug but without the pain. She pushed Alto's sword point first into the sand again and held the axe in both hands to get acquainted with it. "What is this?" she breathed.

  Thork shrugged. "Thork found it sittin' in some chest after him bashed some stupid years an years ago."

  "Was it his? The, uh, stupid's?"

  "Him had it, but him couldn't use it."

  "Why not?" Patrina frowned even though she was turning the axe over and looking it up and down.

  "Dis fing only work for stupids dat doesn't want to use it to do bad fings."

  Patrina blinked and focused on the troll. "I'm sorry, what?"

  The troll pointed at Bonky. "Bonky can't use it, him would want to bash someone just for fun or cuz him wanted to take somefing shiny. Yous can. Yous will only bash for da right reasons."

  "Oh, um, okay." Patrina frowned. "What would it do if Bonky tried?"

  "Burn him's hands off."

  Patrina nearly dropped the axe in surprise. She stared at it and nodded. "I'll use it for the right reasons, I promise."

  Thork shrugged. He turned and stepped back into his hut before coming out with a shining bundle of metal. He grinned at her and held out the bundle. "Dis da only armor Thork's got dat will fit a lady like yous."

  Patrina frowned and leaned her new axe against Alto's sword. She took the armor and unfolded it, and then held it up and stared at it. Her eyes went to the armor and then back to Thork three times before she lowered it and shook her head. "You're making fun of me, aren’t you? This leaves half my chest exposed! And my belly. And my legs! What's the point? Am I to dazzle my opponents with skin instead of steel?"

  Thork guffawed again until he calmed down so he could talk. "Dere's mojo in it, trust Thork. If yous can't dodge or block, da weapon gets pulled to da armor. Strong armor, stronger dan it looks."

  "This is ridiculous," Patrina mumbled. "And I think you're a pig!"

  The troll snorted with laughter, bearing further resemblance to a pig. "Put it on," he urged.

  Patrina scowled and glanced around. "Fine, but I can't wear much of anything beneath it!"

  Thork nodded. "Dat's da point. Da magic won't work if yous do."

  "This was made by a lecherous man, wasn't it?"

  Thork shrugged but she noted his toothy smile wasn't going away.

  "If my father ever sees this," Patrina mumbled as she walked around behind the troll's hut.

  She slipped out of her freshly scrubbed clothes and then shimmied into the armor. It was a combination of plates and chain that, while beautiful and ornate, did little to offer protection. As she fastened the buckles, the armor shifted and adjusted, making her gasp. In moments, it had a comfortable and
secure fit against her skin. She'd been worried that, as a best-case scenario, she might slip out of it and put an awkward show on for people. Now that the magic had sized it to her, she realized she wouldn't have to worry about that, at least.

  The plated skirt fell to her mid-thigh, leaving her legs exposed above her boots. The skirt was attached to the bodice portion, which was little more than chain with a fabric backing over her more sensitive areas. Metal scales that were curved to protect and enhance her had been attached to the chain. The neckline of the armor plunged to the additional cleavage the armor gave her. It acted like a cuirass without the side effect of suffocating her. A hole in the abdomen of the armor invited a foe to disembowel her even as it put her stomach on display. It would be scandalous in any kelgryn or kingdom city.

  Patrina walked back around the hut and glared at the troll. Thork eyed her up and down and grinned. He held out a circlet that reminded her of a queen's crown. "Yous's pretty, but dis is part of dat armor. Dis da helm."

  "You're lucky Alto's not here; he'd cut your tongue out," Patrina snapped. "And that is not a helm; it's a piece of jewelry!"

  Thork guffawed at the empty threat. "Just put it on, lady." Patrina scowled at him and snatched it from his hand. She slipped it into her hair without more than a quick glance and then cinched her weapon belt tighter before grabbing her axe.

  "Couple of fings," Thork said. He handed her a belt and scabbard for Alto's sword, and then he picked up a dagger. "Don't move," he warned.

  "What?" she snapped, confused. After all that he'd given her, was he threatening her?

  The troll threw the dagger at her. Patrina's eyes widened, shocked at the speed of the troll. The dagger flew at her face and then dipped low and struck her in the mail-covered breast. She grunted and stepped back, and then stared down at the knife that lay on the sand at her feet.

  "See, dat's how it works!" Thork said before laughing again at her open-mouthed expression.

  Patrina met Thork's gaze and glared at him. "Warn me when you're going to try something stupid like that!"

  Thork's laughter faded. He frowned. "Womens never have fun," he muttered. He sighed and turned back to the river. "Follow dat in. Yous's gonna have to swim a little, den yous can get on da cave and walk up."

  "Walk up to where?" Patrina craned her neck to look around his hut at the cave the river emerged from.

  "To da castle, dumdum!"

  "Oh," Patrina said. Her eyes widened a moment later. "You mean that's a secret entrance?"

  Thork nodded. "Yep, dem needed a way to get out, just in case."

  "Oh wow. Did they?"

  "What?"

  "Get out?"

  Thork nodded. "Yep, dem's just waiting for someone to bash Bucky so dem can come back and start over."

  "Start what?"

  "Whatever fruity magic dem was doing dat made Bucky in da first place."

  Patrina blinked a few times as she processed what the troll said. She stepped forward and hugged him, realizing too late that her new armor allowed far too much of the troll's skin to touch her own. She grimaced and pulled back, only to see the green skin on Thork's face turning an unusual purplish color. "Thork, thank you so much."

  The scary troll cleared his throat and mumbled something, and then coughed and tried again. "Yous gots to face yous fear to get control of it. Den yous can fank Thork. Now git going. Dem apes isn't going to put up wif Alto for long."

  Patrina nodded and grinned. She slid Alto's sword home in the scabbard and then slipped it over her back. She grabbed her new axe and hurried towards the cave, anxious to make her way up into the castle above and pay Alto back for all the times he'd rescued her.