Ascension

by Michael James Ploof

  Min had gold.

  Not wishing to be recognized, she pulled her hood low, rolled back her shoulders, and swaggered down the grassy dunes to the harbor mimicking the gate of a young, cocky sailor boy. No one so much as sneezed at her as she strolled along the dock. She kept her eyes down, humming to herself in a deep voice.

  When she got to the Azzarrian vessel Gin Laa, she couldn’t help but crane her head back and take a long look at the large pink sails in amazement.

  “We leave now. You go!” a slant-eyed, pudgy sailor barked in pidgin.

  “I will speak to the captain. Carry on,” said Min in her own voice.

  Before he could stop her, she hastily marched across the ship to the upper deck ladder. Instead of climbing it, she went up with a small Burst and landed without missing a stride. She found the captain with the hustling sailors heaving rope and barking at each other in their too-fast language.

  “You,” said the captain when she approached. “You bad sign. You Unbound blacksmith girl. You trouble.”

  “I pay.” She showed him two gold pieces, then said in the Azzarrian accent, “You bring me see cherry blossom.”

  The captain’s brown eyes took on a lustful sheen as he stared at the gold. He relieved her of the coins and nodded. “You go downstairs. You don’t come up till Usha say so.”

  She bowed and hurried belowdecks.

  Min found the storerooms and made herself comfortable on a pile of unsold silk and bundles of fine parchment. She felt like she was lying on a cloud, and the smell of fresh paper reminded her of heroic tales and legends of old.

  Despite having only woken up a few hours ago, she snoozed, lulled by the movement of the ship on open water and the realization that she was free at last.

  But despite her high spirits as she drifted off, nightmares visited her sleep, and images of her father’s broken and bloody body plagued her. An eyeless knight chased her down dark streets, which were soon illuminated by the one-eyed wyvern’s fire. Johann and Vynessa burned, as did her village.

  She woke with a start when she fell off the silk onto the floor. She rose groggily, glancing around to see if anyone was around. But she was alone in the sweet-smelling hold. The only light came from a lantern in the passageway, and music accompanied it. She had no idea how long she slept, for no sunlight penetrated the dark space, but she was hungry, and she wanted to join the merrymaking, but she dared not reveal herself. The captain had made it clear she was to lie low, so that’s what she did.

  She still had the food Vynessa had given her, and she ate in near-darkness, listening to the twangy, liquid melody from elsewhere on the ship. Azzarra was more than five hundred miles south, and it would take even this magnificent ship at least a week to traverse. But she knew it would stop in Bai Island and stay in port for a few days. It was there she would have to secure passage to the Seadryk Islands.

  She had wanted adventure, and here it was. Though she might wish for better accommodations, she was excited and hopeful at the thought of fulfilling her destiny. An added benefit was being safe from Ryker. She laughed softly when she remembered how easily she had escaped his notice. She might be female, but she was as good as any male Unbound. Too bad she’d never get a chance to show him.

  Chapter 7

  The first day of the journey to Bai Island was blessedly peaceful, and she didn’t mind hiding in the hold with silk and parchment, but eventually the call of nature and hunger lured her from her hiding place. She crept down the passageway, past the stairs that led to the top deck, past the sleeping quarters where dozens of hammocks swayed gently from iron hooks, and peeked into the mess deck, which had a galley at the far end.

  A dozen men crowded around one of the three tables in the space. They didn't notice her, as they were enthralled in some dice game.

  The smell of something wonderful drifted from the galley. She peered through the opening in the wall were sailors were served and saw two cooks, one stirring a large steaming pot, and the other scooping copious amounts of rice from a large vat.

  “Excuse me,” said Min.

  “You wait like rest,” one of the cooks snapped.

  “White ghost find way out dark corner,” said the captain.

  She turned, startled. She hadn't even heard him coming. She glanced at his boots. They were about the same size as hers.

  “Are those enchanted?” she asked.

  He stomped on the wood floor, but made no sound. “You like? Ten gold coin.”

  “Two gold and a bowl of food,” she replied.

  He laughed. “Eight gold and food.”

  “Four.”

  “Six.”

  “Five and food.”

  “Deal,” he said and stuck out a hand.

  She shook it, and the captain sat at a table bench and unlaced the boots.

  Min turned her back and fished the coins out of her purse. Five of them were a small fortune, but enchanted boots were worth every penny. With them, she would be able to sneak up on Mazer and slit his murderous throat.

  The exchange was made, and Min eagerly switched her boots for the captain's. They were a size too big, but that could be remedied with a wad of cotton.

  The captain watched her with amusement, and a few of the men who had been gambling took interest as well.

  Min smiled excitedly at the captain and then stomped the floor. The boots thudded loudly, and Min regarded them with a frown. The captain was red-faced, trying not to laugh.

  She stomped again, and he burst out laughing.

  “These aren't enchanted,” she complained.

  “Stupid big-eye,” he said. “Elven enchantments no real. Five gold lesson.”

  He jabbered to the others and pointed at her. When he hit the punchline, everyone guffawed loudly.

  Her ears burning with embarrassment, she pulled off a boot and threw it at the captain. “You're a no-good cheating dog!”

  Anger replaced his mirth. “Five gold buy food too. Fill angry mouth and think on lesson.”

  “I want my money back!”

  “Deal is deal. I no say enchanted. Now you eat.”

  Min put her old boots back on and grudgingly yanked a bowl from the stack. She went to the galley window, and a cook plopped a big scoop of rice in the bowl and covered it with a delicious-smelling fish sauce.

  She sat at the table farthest from the dice game and ate her soup, feeling very much like a fool.

  Late the next night they sailed into the Bai Island harbor. Min stepped off the dinghy that had taken her to shore and onto the dock, surprised at how bright and lively the bay town was.

  The islanders who had once called the place home had been nearly decimated by the Veshkyr emperor, Vordorack, but Thrine had stepped in and saved them when they defeated the Veshkyrs. The island was currently as a trading post, and the Baiians enjoyed a quality of life they had not known before. They had lost much of their culture, however, which was good or bad, depending on who you asked.

  The harbor where the Azzarrian ship dropped anchor was called Newtown, and it resembled any Thrine coastal village found on the mainland, aside from the palm trees and windswept dunes.

  This was no unruly pirate harbor. There was a Thrine Naval presence on water and land, along with various fishing and trading boats.

  Identical lighthouses had been built on either end of the harbor. Both were over two hundred feet high. Long beams of light swept the water, one clockwise and the other counter-clockwise, guiding sailors to the docks.

  The small village offered a number of pubs, gambling houses, and brothels, all of which the sailors and naval officers frequented.

  She wasn't interested in those establishments. She needed to find the crab fisherman who fished the frigid seas northwest of Seadryk. No thanks to the captain and his enchanted boot trick, Min only had a few gold coins left. She felt like an idiot, losing the money because of such a simple ruse, and she vowed it would never happen again.

  Despite the loss, she had enough to get to
Seadryk, but how would she get off the island after she defeated Mazer Vheck? A better question might be how would she survive the encounter?

  “Watch where you’re going!” said a man with a barrel on his shoulder who moved around her as she absently roamed the streets.

  “Sorry.”

  A sailor’s song from one of the pubs drew her attention, and she decided that was as good a place as any to start her search. The closer she got, the louder the singing became.

  “Bait the hook, and toss the line, and wait till it don’t float. Hoy!

  Fight that fish, and pull it in, and slap it on the boat. Hoy!

  Check the weight, and feel the meat, and see if it’s worthwhile. Hoy!

  Chop the head, and spill the guts, and toss it on the pile. Hoy!

  A hundred more, and we’ll be full, and headed to the shore. Hoy!

  There’s a pub not far, called Twin Light’s End, with a mermaid on the door. Hoy!

  They got pints, for sailor boys, that’ll put you on your ass. Hoy!

  They got wenches, night and day, and boy, do they got brass. Hoy!”

  Min had heard the song before but never sung by such a boisterous crowd. She saw the mermaid on the door and the large sign above it that read Twin Light’s End. A shiver passed through her. The legendary pub was surreal, and as she pushed through the swinging double doors, they reached the end of the second verse. The sailors cheered and tossed back drinks, more beer hitting the floor than thirsty mouths.

  The sailor boys outnumbered the serving wenches twenty to one, and there weren’t many other females in the place. Her tight leather armor made Min a spectacle, no matter how she tried to hide her femininity. Soon the unruly men were whistling and jeering and grabbing her ass. Min yelled at her attackers, spinning to catch the culprits, but they only laughed and egged her on with taunts and requests to show them “what your momma gave you!”

  A man with blackened teeth and a mutilated nose grabbed her breast, and Min’s dagger sailed out of its sheath before she realized she had pulled it free. She thrust downward, stabbing right through his forearm. The man howled and stared at the dagger in surprise.

  She pulled the arm up with the blade and pinned him to a thick beam beside her. “Anyone else want to become an ornament?” she screamed, and the crowd backed up, giving her space.

  “Will you look at that?” someone said and let out a raucous guffaw. “The lass pinned Chum’s ass to the wall!”

  “Back off!” she warned him.

  He pretended to be scared and laughed harder than before.

  “The next one of you dirty bastards who touches me gets one in the throat!” She produced the other dagger.

  Chum tried to pull the dagger out of the beam, but he only caused himself more pain. “Get this damn thing out of me!” he whined and kicked at Min.

  She gave the dagger a little jostle. “How many poor women have said that very thing to you?”

  “Gentlemen, gentlemen, is that any way to treat a young woman?” a man asked.

  They parted for the speaker, and a well-dressed man wearing a captain’s hat sauntered toward her. She pointed a dagger in his direction, and he offered her a solemn nod.

  “I apologize for my crewmen’s words and actions,” he said.

  “Get me off this beam so I can flog the wench!” Chum screamed.

  “Your captain speaks for you now,” said the man. “So shut your rotten mouth.”

  He said it with a smile aimed at Min, and she couldn’t help being taken aback by his allure. His skin was as weathered as the rest of them, and he looked older than he probably was, which she guessed was in his mid-thirties. He wore a neatly trimmed brown beard with a hint of gray on the chin, which was square, as were his shoulders. A tall man, he was broad in the chest and thick in the arms. He was rough-looking but handsome, with sandy brown eyes and brown hair to his shoulders. A long braid wound in red leather with a single small ruby at the end hung over his chest. The man’s face, his compelling eyes, drew her in and wouldn’t let go. She sheathed her dagger.

  “My name is Captain Varis Eshvale,” he said and bowed. He grabbed the dagger pinning Chum to the beam and yanked it free. Chum fell to the floor, lamenting his injured arm and cursing Min.

  Varis kicked him in the side and grinned at her. He bent, wiped the blade on Chum’s shoulder, then handed it to her.

  “Thank you,” she said with a self-conscious glance at the silent crowd who just stood there watching, absently holding their mugs.

  “The show’s over!” Varis yelled. “Unless someone else wants to be pinned to the wall, I suggest you return to your singing.”

  The men laughed, and one of them began, “Bait the hook, and toss the line….”

  “Would you like to join me?” Varis asked, gesturing to a distant table.

  She nodded eagerly and gave Chum a wide berth as she moved to a quieter part of the pub.. They sat in a corner, Varis choosing a chair that put his back to the wall. To keep an eye on things, she supposed.

  A serving wench appeared and cleared and wiped down the table. “You’ve got to show me that trick sometime,” she said to Min.

  The sailors sang, the captain observed, and the waitress beamed at Min. “What’ll youse be drinking tonight?”

  “The usual,” said Varis. He pulled off his black leather gloves one finger at a time, his gaze on Min.

  “And you?” she asked.

  “Um.” Min couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in a pub. “A pint of red ale,” she blurted.

  “Be back in a whip,” said the server.

  When they were alone, she panicked.

  The captain noticed and smiled kindly. “Where did you learn how to defend yourself like that?”

  She shrugged. “Anyone can swing a knife around.”

  “Indeed, but few can put one through a man’s arm, and fewer still can pin a man to a beam with a single thrust.”

  “I’m strong,” she said. She tried to relax, and the captain’s smile made it a little easier.

  “Your accent,” he said, squinting. “It is southern Azuran, no?”

  “Yes.”

  “Those daggers, you forged them yourself?”

  A quick intake of breath. “Yes.”

  “You’re Varresh’s daughter.”

  She leaned in and lowered her voice. “How do you know that?”

  “I’m Azuran, like you.”

  “You don’t sound it.”

  “I have not lived there in quite some time. The accent has worn off I suppose.”

  “You knew my father?”

  “Knew?” he said with concern.

  “He passed.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Yes, I did know your father. Used to get my iron net sinkers from him, among other things.” He opened his jacket, and she saw the hilt of a dagger below the breast. She recognized it as her father’s work. “A hell of a craftsman he was. Was he killed in the wyvern attack on Riverrun?”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “Here you are,” said the waitress and placed their drinks on the table. Min’s was in a tall, thick glass, and the captain’s amber liquor was in a short, stout tumbler.

  “Word travels fast on the water,” he said after the server left.

  “Like many, he was killed in the attack.” She drank her ale. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was, and she gulped half the pint before putting it down. She wiped the froth from her mouth, glad for the courage the ale would give her. She didn’t like this pub, and she didn’t like the people, aside from the captain.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said solemnly. He raised his glass. “To Eddick Varresh, the best damned blacksmith in Azura.”

  Min tapped her mug against his glass and drank deeply, watching him over the rim. He watched her back. They put down their drinks.

  “What is an orphaned blacksmith’s daughter doing so far from home?”

  “I’m in search of passage north.”
<
br />   “Destination?”

  She hesitated, but she was never going to get there if she didn’t tell anyone where she was going. “Seadryk Island.”

  He was visibly perplexed. “Why?”

  “My reasons are my own.”

  “Ah,” he said. “Pretty and mysterious.”

  Min’s cheeks heated, and she turned her attention to the man dancing on the bar. When he fell off and everyone laughed, she turned back to the captain. He was watching her with amusement.

  “Are you going north?” she asked.

  “I’m currently going nowhere,” he said.

  “You know what I mean. When you leave port,” she said impatiently.

  “We’re heading to the cold water. But do you think I would take you to Seadryk?”

  “I can pay.”

  “That’s not the point. Why do you want to go there?”

  “I told you—”

  “Yes, yes, the mysterious Min has her reasons, and your failure to simply explain yourself tells me you are up to no good.”

  “What does it matter?”

  “You are a young woman, and that island is full of barbarians. What business could you possibly have there?”

  “Would you ask a man willing to pay for a ride the same question?”

  His brow rose, and he laughed. “One your age, I would. Especially one clad in fine leather armor, carrying two ivory daggers.”

  She sipped her drink and stared at him. What a handsome pain in the ass he was. “I have four gold queens, take them or leave them. But I will get to Seadryk, with or without your help.”

  “You’re not going to tell me what you’re up to, are you?”

  She shook her head, still not so much as cracking a smile.

  “Well then.” He tossed back his drink, stood, and tipped his hat to her. “Good luck.”

  “You’re leaving?”