by Arlin Fehr
-Captain Phips, a part of his regular speech to new crew members
SUMMER WIND – NAMA OCEAN – NEAR MILLA
As Kia and the crew and passengers from below deck hurried above, to escape the rising water, they were not met with near as chaotic a sight as they were expecting. Far from it. The world above deck was strangely calm. The crew laid unconscious all around them. The wind was dying down. The groaning of the ship, and the howling of the storm, were the only sounds.
Kia saw the tendrils closing up and slithering out of view over the edge of the ship. The others with Kia rushed to try to wake the crew on deck.
Lady Cina was standing next to Kia. ‘We have to try to get off this ship, and take as many of these men as we can. The ship is going down and there’s nothing we can do about it,’ the Princess’s Protector assured.
They ran to the side of the ship and saw the boats had been smashed, their ropes flapping off the side. Kia and Cina looked at each other grimly.
Then Kia turned away and looked out at the unconscious crew. She shortly spotted Azra among them and rushed up to him. She knelt down and reached out for him. She heard the snake hiss as her hand drew close and pulled away... a lump caught in her throat.
She turned to look at her constant companion coiling near her.
She’d forgotten for a moment that it was even there.
‘Cina! Help my Uncle!’ Kia called.
Cina bent down and picked up Azra’s limp form like he was a doll, and hefted him up over her shoulder.
She was a large, and impressive, woman.
‘There’s nowhere to go,’ Cina pointed out.
Kia stood up and looked around. None of the unconscious crew was waking. Cina’s guards were looking around warily. She saw John passed out on the deck too. It was just her, Cina, ten guards, and about eight sailors left.
At that moment, the tendrils were coming back into view. They began to open, pointing back at the deck of the ship.
Kia unslung her bow and pulled out an arrow. The winds were not going to do her any favours. Hopping for the best, she let the arrow fly. As the tendril flowered open, the arrow pierced one of the flaps of flesh, sticking in.
A shudder rocked the ship and the tendril whipped away out of sight. Spinning around to face the other one, she saw it was already gone too. The ship stopped moving.
A sound from behind her drew her attention. She saw a figure on the command deck, by the wheel. The figure was pale blue, with large, black, eyes. It had two short folds of skin hanging down over either side of its face. Its skin glistened with moisture as a lightning strike lit up the sky around them.
Drawing another arrow, Kia readied her bow, but didn’t point it at the creature. A noise from behind her caused her to look away. More of the creatures were climbing up over the side of the ship. Those people still awake rushed away from the creatures and closed together, with the guards forming a circle around Kia, Cina, and Azra.
The creatures moved between the unconscious people on the deck, and formed up around the remaining, conscious, people. They looked at them with their large eyes. Their bodies were hunched slightly over. Their arms hung loose by their sides.
As one, they started to sway back and forth, in place. Kia was aware that the ship was starting to move back towards the centre of the storm.
‘We’re moving away from shore. We have to do something!’ Cina barked.
She was still carrying Azra.
‘I don’t know if they’re going to hurt us.’
‘They almost sank the ship!’ one of the sailors said.
‘That was a sea monster?’ Kia wondered.
‘They didn’t show up till after we drove it off,’ Cina said. ‘We have to drive them off and wake the crew somehow. Men, prepare to engage!’
The creatures were still swaying. Kia was tense, her bow ready, as Cina’s men prepared to move.
‘What if these are the Nehhom?’ Kia asked, the thought suddenly coming to her.
‘Then they’ve proven their unhelpful to say the least,’ Cina growled. ‘And they’ve proven they’re Mahgically inclined. We’ll need Azra and Jahnyz to face them properly. For now though, we can catch them off guard.’
The guards rushed outward, advancing on the creatures. The creatures stopped swaying and jumped back. Every time a guard moved to strike one, the creatures dodged away – but the ship had stopped moving.
More creatures climbed onto the vessel. One of them jumped towards Kia and she fell backwards as it scrambled towards her. Cina moved beside her fast, and caught the creature with a kick to the side – still with Azra over her shoulder. The alien creature let out a gargling cry and rolled across the deck. Cina put down Azra and drew her sword.
Three more creatures lunged for them, separating them from the guards. Kia scrambled to put her bow securely on her back and pulled a dagger from its sheath on her side.
One of the creatures regarded her, while slowly stepping towards them. Cina put herself between Kia and the creature. The creature stopped, and let out a low, long, undulating cry.
Behind her, Kia felt something clammy on her neck, and was thrown to the deck. There was a grunt and a thud as Cina landed next to her. Cina rolled onto her front, swinging her sword at a nearby creature. It jumped back and moaned at her. Kia scrambled to her feet, and saw two of the creatures by Azra. One was putting a semi-translucent glob of something over his mouth. Kia tried to move towards them, but another two creatures got in her way. Kia slashed at one, but it weaved away and grabbed her wrist, twisting it painfully and knocking the dagger away. She used the self-defence training that Cina had taught her and moved to flip the creature, but it let go of her, and its slick skin slid through her grasp.
The snake lunged at the creature that had grabbed her, but the creature’s hands shot out and the air rippled from its palms. The snake was hit by a blast of energy and flew across the ship, out of sight.
The two fish-men by Azra lifted him up and rushed for the edge of the vessel, bounding over the unconscious people on deck. Without stopping, they dove over the side, taking Azra with them.
Kia swiped at the nearest creature, but it dove away backwards. Suddenly one of the creatures let out a cry, and all the creatures started to jump off the ship.
Kia rushed to the side of the boat, and was about to jump off after them, when she felt a strong hand grab her and pull her back onto the deck. Kia saw Cina holding onto her.
‘I have to go after him!’ Kia shouted over the storm.
‘And what then, die as the creatures push you away and you get lost in a storm?’
Kia heard a hissing noise. The snake was slithering towards them from where ever it had been launched to. Cina immediately released her grip and stepped back, sword raised.
The snake was looking directly at Cina. Kia stepped up and stood between them. The snake regarded her and tried to slither around. Kia stepped in its path again.
‘Kia, what are you doing? Don’t be dangerous,’ Cina said.
‘No, I can’t lose you too,’ Kia said, her eyes on the snake.
‘I’m supposed to protect you. Let me handle this!’
‘I’ve seen what this beast can do. Your sword will only slow it. Maybe we can force it overboard,’ Kia said.
The snake whipped to one side, and Kia almost tripped getting in front of it again. It hissed and recoiled back. It seemed to settle down. It regarded Kia carefully.
Kia reached down, not sure what she was doing, and put her hand on it tightly. It began to writhe against her grip. She held it up and said, ‘Listen here you evil thing! You can’t hurt my friend. She’s here to protect me, and in a way, so are you. Now settle down.’
To Kia’s surprise, the snake settled down. She loosened her grip a little, and the snake coiled around her arm, and lay still.
Cina eyed it warily, and it looked at her back, before tucking its head back down.
‘What just happened?’ Cina asked warily, slowly putting
her sword away.
‘The Sorcerer never said anything about me touching the snake,’ Kia said, looking at the snake on her arm carefully.
‘Still, that was incredibly foolish,’ Cina replied.
‘Look, I don’t know why it worked either, but can we worry about what we’re going to do now?’
They didn’t have to think long about their next course of action. Things seemed to be calming down. At the very least, they weren’t under attack at the moment – by whatever those things had been.
The ship shuddered as a wave crashed against it. The wind was starting to die down, but the sea was still harsh. The waves seemed to be pushing them towards shore slowly. The question remained whether or not the ship would survive the trip.
A moan caught their attention. One of the unconscious sailors was waking up.
Looking around, they saw the guards were finally managing to rouse the others. They found Captain Phips by the stairs to the command deck, and woke him. He was groggy and weak. He pushed himself against the wall and sat there breathing heavily for a myno. Then he seemed to remember where he was and looked around. ‘The ship is still afloat?’ he asked.
‘For now,’ Cina said, ‘but we don't know if the monster will be coming back. We were attacked.’
‘I remember the monster. It’s gone you say?’ Phips asked.
‘Lady Kia shot it in a tender place apparently. It left shortly after that. Then these strange creatures boarded the ship and took Baron Hemnoth,’ Cina explained.
Phips was quiet, a moment, then asked, ‘Boats?’
‘Smashed by the beast when it arrived.’
‘The situation doesn’t seem very good,’ Phips commented.
Everyone was quiet.
The winds were just a soft breeze. The waves were almost gentle.
Phips coughed raggedly and leaned on his side. After he stopped, he wiped his mouth and got shakily to his feet. Other sailors were starting to wake up too. Leaning against the ship, Phips looked over the side of the vessel.
‘We are rather low in the water,’ he said.
A groaning sound carried through the air and the ship shuddered.
Then there was crack and the ship broke in half.
The deck twisted under her, and Kia fought to keep her balance. They were mercifully close to the shore, but so many of the sailors were in no condition to swim.
The hull twisted over and the ship tore itself apart, writhing down into the waves. Kia dove into the sea and held her breath as the water swallowed her in its grasp.
She had missed her armour while fighting the creatures, but was now glad for its absence. Quickly trying to regain her bearings, Kia swam for the surface.
As she broke through, she saw many sailors clinging to pieces of wood, still too weak to make for shore. She saw one sailor lose his grip and slip below the surface.
Kia dove and went after him. She reached for him as he sunk down, and caught hold of him. She began to swim for the surface.
As she broke the surface, she noticed the snake wrapped around her arm, regarding the unconscious solider warily, but doing nothing more. A chill ran through her as she realized she could have just as easily doomed him to a different death.
She put all thoughts of that out of her mind and swam for shore.
As she pulled herself onto the rocky shore, dragging the sailor onto the land, she saw others staggering out of the sea near her. They were dragging others with them. The stronger ones dove back in, looking for more survivours.
Those left on shore started to move further up the bank, looking for dry land. The weather had calmed down considerably.
Lady Cina and her guards were assisting the unconscious. Kia desperately wanted to help, but the snake tempered her desire. She didn’t want to tempt fate more than she already had.
Looking around, she caught sight of something behind an outcrop of rock, further away from shore.
She started to climb up the bluff. The ground here was harsh and sparsely vegetated. There were many large and small rocks scattered around. There was a sheer rise about three feet in height keeping her from the rocky outcropping. She looked around and saw a bush a few feet to the left. Using it to pull herself up, she stood up and looked around.
She didn’t see anything up here. Looking back at the others, she saw more people lying on shore. She realized that the rise around the shoreline was due to tide being out. They’d have to get to higher ground.
Kia started to walk towards a small hill, hoping to see somewhere suitable for them to camp at. As she looked around, she thought she caught sight of movement ducking behind another rock outcropping.
She walked towards it. She paused, looking back down on shore. Lady Cina was still engaged and no one seemed to be paying much attention.
Kia turned back around, and stopped cold. There was a hooded man behind a large boulder, with the lower half of his face covered by a grey cloth, leaving the upper half of his face visible. Kia noticed his irises were white, completely unlike anything she had seen before. He held a bow with an arrow notched. It was held at the ready, but didn’t draw it back.
He pointed at her and motioned her over. She quickly glanced at others on the shore, and then back at the man. He shook his head slowly, sensing what she was planning.
She had no weapons, but the snake was still present. If she got close, and he tried anything, the snake would make short work of him.
Deciding to risk it, she started to walk towards him.
Once she got close, he lowered the bow and said, ‘Why are you here?’
‘Our ship sank off shore. We’re stuck here,’ she said carefully.
The man nodded. ‘A storm out of nowhere?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ Kia answered.
‘Wouldn’t happen to have seen a sea monster while you were out there would you?’ the man wondered.
‘Yeah, it tore off our rudder. I shot it in a soft spot and it left.’
‘A soft spot? I didn’t think it had one,’ the stranger said, his eyes widening in surprise.
‘Who are you?’ Kia asked.
The man looked at her for a moment. Then he said, ‘I haven't decided yet.’
Kia didn’t know how to reply.
The man gripped his bow again. ‘Go back to shore and tell your friends to place their weapons in a pile.’
Kia opened her mouth, unsure of how to answer. ‘I don't think they’ll take kindly to threats from one man.’
‘Oh I’m not the only one. You are surrounded by my men. Your fortunes are directly linked to whether or not you go to shore and get your friends to drop their weapons.’ The stranger’s voice was still cordial.
Kia swallowed nervously and started back for shore. She looked around as she walked back, glancing for others hiding among the rocks and shrubs.
She didn’t see anyone.
She lowered herself gently down the bank. She walked towards Cina.
Cina was still busy. Kia was acutely aware that there were less of them than when they started. She shivered. Her clothes were wet, and the wind still hadn’t died completely.
‘Cina,’ Kia said.
Cina looked up. ‘Kia, where have you been?’
‘We have a problem.’
Cina scoffed. ‘Another one?’ she asked. ‘What else could possibly go wrong?’
‘We’re surrounded,’ Kia winced.
Venomous
‘Monsters aren’t the only thing that are dangers on these waters, John... we must also be on the look out for Pirates...’
-Captain Phips to John, on their voyage south
DEADLANDS – NORTH SHORE OF MILLA
Cina stared, and Kia had to think about how to proceed without causing her Protector to try something rash. She thought about telling Cina the whole story, but she felt something about the man and stopped.
Cina was quiet, waiting.
Kia decided to start small, and said, ‘I went looking for somewhere for us to camp. I met so
meone up there. He told me to tell us to put our weapons in a pile. He looked strange. He had white irises in his eyes. He seems dangerous.’
Cina stood up and looked around. She seemed to be listening for something.
Kia stood by waiting. The others had started to take notice. Cina’s men stood up and began to form a perimeter around the remaining sailors.
Captain Phips struggled to his feet and walked over to Kia and Cina.
‘What’s going on?’ Phips asked.
‘Kia said she met someone who claimed we were surrounded.’
‘One man?’ Phips said.
Kia looked at him. ‘Yes, he looked dangerous and said that we were surrounded. He said that I needed to come down here and tell everyone to lower their weapons.’
Phips was quiet in thought for a moment. ‘I’d say we do it,’ he finally put forward.
Cina looked at him. ‘What?’ she hissed.
‘If it’s one man, he can’t take us all down, even if we are unarmed. If we are surrounded, then we have far too many people in no condition to fight. And we need to get off the shore before the tide comes in. Even being a prisoner to bandits beats this.’
Cina sighed. He hesitated for a long moment, but threw her sword to the ground. She ordered her men to do the same. The sailors that had weapons followed suit. Then they all stood away from the pile that had formed.
They heard a loud whistle noise. One by one, thirteen hooded figures stepped into view, all holding bows. Each of them had their faces hidden behind a white cloth, except one who wore a grey cloth.
The one with the white eyes, and the grey, cloth stepped forward.
‘Very wise of you!’ he called out.
Kia looked up at him. ‘Will you tell me who you are now?’
‘I’ve decided I’m not a foe, but beyond that, I still haven’t decided. Now stay put while we gather your weapons and then we’ll get you somewhere you can dry off,’ he said, as four of the other figures carrying bags climbed down, moving towards the pile of weapons.
The four worked in silence, gathering the weapons into their bags, and then climbing back up the bank.