The Oathsworn

by Liandra Jake

  Arend stood up and walked to the railing facing the dock. "Do you three plan on coming as well?" "Of course." Gliese replied. "It'll be irresponsible to not to." Arend gestured to the starboard side of the terrace. "You're going to have to stay you here; There's no way to fit you inside." "We're fine with that." King replied, stepping from the dock and over the railing directly, his weight shifting the Silverwind slightly. He and Gliese settled in the clear area of the terrace, allowing Ros to hop off Gliese before they could bury him in layers of fur.

  "Do you think I could take a look around the ship?" Ros asked Arend. "Fine by me, just stay out of trouble." "Aye aye!" Ros replied, hurrying into the Silverwind. Arend nudged Kronth. "Hey, where's your luggage anyway?" "I just called it." Kronth replied as she slipped Oragè's ring off her finger. Arend pointed at the ring. "And by the way, how did Oragè teleport way back when? He called it 'Rushing' or something?" "It's not teleportation. Oragè's kind can move quickly in a straight line, but their vision is Orenth based at farther distances, so what you thought was a portal was a target I created for him to help navigate the Orenth fields in a city."

  Something in Arend' bag vibrated. He pulled out a red flip phone. "You paged me?" He asked. "Yeah uh, we're ready when you are." Kyrel replied. "Engage the Heavy Drive and get the passengers settled and the crew ready. I want you ready to take off when I step onto the bridge." "Alright. I'll make the announcement." Kyrel replied, ending the call. Shortly after, his voice filled the airship carrying his and advising the passengers to move to the windows at the front of the bottom floors. "Arend!" Someone shouted from down the dock. Arend glanced to see Michael running his way.

  "What's up?" Arend asked, hopping off to meet him on the dock. He held out a small wooden box. "Aegith's team found this." Arend flipped it open to look at the small metal box within. "It's an audio log made by one of your distant relatives." "Ruby Myshcell?" Arend asked, picking it up and reading the name. He glanced at the plug. "Ahh. So that's what it's for. I've got something in a display case in my quarter's that looks like this'll work for it."

  "Make sure you get a copy of it and send it to me; Paine was rather excited to be able to hear from her directly." Michael replied. "I will. You're not coming I assume?" Arend asked, gesturing to the airship behind him. Michael shook his head. "I've got an article to write. It's a nice airship, though." "Thanks. She's called the Silverwind. I guess I'll see you around." Arend gave him a wave before hopping back onto his airship, hooking his toe on the gangplank and pulling it off of the dock.

  "And hey," Arend called back as the airship began to rise. "Why didn't you call?" "Phone's dead!" Michael called back. He was almost pushed off the dock by Oragè, who flung Kronth's duffle bag up to Arend. "Cutting it close!" Kronth called down. "Have a nice trip!" Oragè called back. Arend glanced over at Kronth. "Why doesn't he call you 'mistress' anymore?" "He's been busy with his people and we've kinda drifted apart as I've taken my place as Guildmaster. And what with how things are going for him, he has his own place with his people. My job as a Beastmaster is coming to an end."

  Arend chuckled. "And by then, Berry will have her kids and we'll have to force you to work!" "You're probably right about that." Kronth replied as she took a last look at the city before nudging Arend. She took her bag from him and they started for the door. "I'll go put this in our room. You should head to the bridge, Captain." "I'm just a man with an airship. You don't have to-" Arend was knocked forward when something large and hard flew into his back. Kronth watched with mild amusement as a fully armored Corenden sat up, his luggage thrown against the wall.

  "You okay Arend?" Kronth asked once Arend rolled over. "Ow." Corenden shrugged unapologetically. "I can't quite control myself at high speeds yet." He looked to Kronth. "Berry says hi." Arend stood up. "Just put your stuff in a room somewhere. We're about to set off." Corenden retrieved his bag and hurried after Arend and Kronth into the Silverwind.

  Corenden found himself in a wide hallway, light blue carpet covering the floor and the walls painted pale red. The ceiling was black, with speckles of color added that turned it into the swirls of the night sky. Scones on the walls provided light down the long hallway. Corenden noted that the doors were few and spaced far apart from each other, so he assumed they were for large gatherings.

  At the far end of the hallway, where the last two floors ended just before the nose began, was a large curved window, reinforced by an outer steel frame. It started at the floor of the bottom floor, and ended just under the stairs from the third floor into the nose. Everyone else was gathered to watch the slow rise out from the sea, and Arend' command to start the flight.

  Arend glanced back at Corenden. "If you hurry, you can see us set off." Corenden walked up to him, waddling only slightly. "I'd much rather see it from up there." Arend shrugged. "If you really want to carry all that." He replied as he started up the stairs. "Every moment can be training!" Corenden replied, hurrying up the stairs as fast as he could without tripping. Arend watched him go with a chuckle.

  The nose of the Silverwind had the same long hallway, ending with the giant nosecone made of reinforced glass and seating for a few people. Behind them was a walkway around either side of the staircase to the engineering section of the airship, as well as an elevator door. Two doors on either side of the hallway led to Arend' room and his study, to the right and left respectively. Next to his study door was another elevator to the bridge, a special door to it on the inside of Arend' study for easy movement.

  Arend opened the door for Kronth, a special keycard required to open the door. She dropped her stuff off just past the door before joining him and Corenden in the elevator. The ride was mostly uneventful until they reached the bridge. The walls collapsed down as they rose up into the floor of the bridge, a few steps behind Arend' chair. "Was that really nessicary?" Kronth whispered to Arend as she realized they were the center of attention. "It's my special elevator. I wanted it to be cool."

  She let out a sigh. "Yeah, I guess it is." Once they all stepped off, the elevator disappeared and was replaced by a metal trapdoor with no perceivable button. The carpet of the bridge was a light grey, with red and silver streaks giving it a bit of flair. I giant, encompassing dome that surrounded them allowed a view of the sky, ocean and the top of the Silverwind. Kronth noticed that there were only two people on the bridge prior to their arrival.

  The bridge consisted of two separate levels. Kyrel's station was directly in line with the center of the airship, consisting of a standing wheel that had basic readouts on the speed and direction of the Silverwind, and a seat resembling a cockpit directly in front of the wheel, which Kronth assumed was for Kyrel if and when the airship was in serious trouble.

  To Kyrel's left was a Changed, but it took Kronth some time before she could identify exactly what kind. The Monster he took after was a rare breed of snake that, instead of growing scales, grew Korvan-like formations on their body. The scales of these Kruxstal Snakes were as hard as bedrock and were mostly mundane in terms of Orenth. His skin was a cool grey under his clear scales. She assumed he had a technological job based on the array of switches and touch screens that adorned his station. He tilted his head when she caught his gaze, the slits of his eyes watching her briefly before he smiled.

  Kronth smiled in return as Arend led her forward to his chair. It too was centered with the ship, near the edge of the steps down to the lower floor area. Since Kyrel was standing on a lower level, Arend could still see straight ahead of them without any orange hair blocking his vision. Kronth joined Arend in his chair while Corenden fluttered down to watch next to Kyrel, finding a place to sit on the station to Kyrel's right.

  "Ready to fly, Shhir." The Changed said to Arend. "All shyshtemsh are ready." "For the last time Skiff, call them networksh." Arend replied. "Shorry Shir." Skiff replied. "Criosh." Kyrel said, looking back. "Let'sh get on with it." "Shining shtarsh shparkle in the shilver shky." Corenden said quietly. Arend looked at them incredulously. "The shnak
e shlithered acrossh the shandy sheashide." Kronth said with a giggle. "Enough." Arend insisted as he tapped a button on his chair. He looked around at them before

  "Passengers of the airship Silverwind, once we leave this harbor there is no going back. I doubt any of you will turn back after all of this, so let me say that I am grateful I don't have to travel alone. Without further ado Kyrel, onwards." "Aye!" Kyrel cried in reply before Arend turned off the intercom.

  No one was watching from Dock Ten as the Silverwind started forward over the surface of the water. No one needed to wave good bye, as word had spread over the true reason for the journey. No one watched the airship quickly build speed and altitude as it sped for the horizon. The day-to-day life of Sareville carried on as it always had, and the city's citizens held a common belief after everything Dragon's Den and Arend had done for both the city and their own Guild. No one's heart dropped as they watched the final flash of silver on the horizon, because everyone believed they all would come back.

  Thanks for reading!

  If you liked this book, check out Lightfall’s Crossing!