The Brotherhood: Blood

by Kody Boye

  “We have to go back for the saddlebags anyway,” Odin said.

  “Probably a good thing we didn’t bring them just now,” Nova said, settling down beside Odin. “I probably would’ve dropped mine.”

  I don’t doubt it.

  He chuckled and patted his friend’s back a few times before returning it to his lap. A few men onboard the ship pulled a series of drawstrings and pulleys, which turned and directed the massive sails in their direction.

  “I wonder what it’s like,” Odin said.

  “What?” Nova asked.

  “Living on a ship.”

  “Probably not much fun. I mean, you’d get sunburned pretty easily, and you’d have to worry about falling over the side of the boat and getting eaten by fish.”

  “Which is something you both need to consider when you walk the deck,” Miko said. “It’s not easy to stop a boat that size.”

  “Don’t they have anchors, sir?” Odin asked.

  “Yes, but it takes several men to move just one anchor.”

  “Then how are they going to get the boat into the harbor without hitting the pier?”

  “They will,” the Elf said. “Don’t worry.”

  They sat in silence for the next long while, Odin internally debating the prospect of being on a boat and watching it slowly make its way toward the harbor and the dock. It seemed, however, in looking at such a structure, that Odin began to get nervous, especially about being out on the sea. He knew not whether he could stomach the way the boat rocked, when it shifted nearly all the way to its side, nor was he aware of life aboard such a structure. Would he constantly be sick, and just how long would they be within its confines, shielded by a few feet of wooden planks and nothing more?

  And for who knows how long, he thought, sighing.

  Miko still hadn’t divulged just where they would be going.

  Before long, the boat pulled up and arranged itself alongside the largest dock in the vicinity of the harbor. Miko gestured both Odin and Nova to go to the bar and get their saddlebags and whatever else they might need, including jerky or whatever else the bar offered.

  “He sends us to go get the stuff,” the older man muttered, reaching up to scratch his beard.

  “Well,” Odin began, “I am his squire. And, technically, since you’re travelling with us, you have to do what he says.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  Upon stepping into the bar, Odin gestured Nova to go upstairs. The man began to say something, but Odin made his way to the bar before his friend could start on his tirade. He wasn’t stupid—he knew Nova would likely return to the drink should he arrive.

  “What can I help you with, lad?” Acklan asked.

  “Do you have anything we could take on the boat with us? Jerky, fruit, something like that?”

  “I’ve got whatever your money can pay for.”

  Odin reached into his pocket. Finding only ten copper pieces, he set them on the counter. “I know you probably get these a lot,” he said, “and I know that’s what you mostly charge, but if you can give me whatever you can out of this, I’d appreciate it.”

  “I can do that.”

  The bartender pocketed the change and disappeared behind the bar. Odin stood there, waiting for the man to return and watching for Nova to appear from the entryway. When he didn’t see his friend, he assumed he had snuck up into the room, got the stuff and returned before Acklan could even walk off.

  Just as long as he’s not over here trying to buy a drink.

  “Here you go, lad.”

  Odin turned. Acklan set a small bag before him. “There’s jerky,” he said, “some fruit, a few vegetables, and even a few sweets in there.”

  “Are you sure I can take all this?” He lifted the bag to test its weight, grimacing in response. “It seems like a lot.”

  “I only seems like it. Really—it’s leftover stuff I haven’t been able to sell.” The man smiled and winked. “Take it, son.”

  “Thank you, sir. It’s much appreciated.

  “Say goodbye to your friend and knight master for me. Be careful out there on the sea, though. She may seem calm, but she’ll turn on you faster than you can blink an eye if you’re not careful.”

  “I will, sir. Thank you.”

  With little more than a nod, Acklan returned to his work, while Odin turned and made his way out of the establishment. He saw Nova standing next to Miko holding two saddlebags under his arms, while the Elf held the other, remaining one between his forearm and side. Another man, whom Odin assumed was the captain, stood in front of them, gesturing to the boat, the ocean, and the surrounding docks and harbor every so often.

  “Ah,” Miko said, turning his head. “Captain, I’d like you to meet my squire, Odin.”

  “Hello young sir,” the captain said, reaching out to shake Odin’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. The name’s Jerdai.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

  “The pleasure’s mine.” Jerdai relinquished hold on his hand. “I was just telling your knight master and friend about the ocean.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Oh, no—you’ve nothing to worry about. I was just saying how calm it seemed today.”

  Odin didn’t reply. Jerdai opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when another man called down to him.

  “All right, I’ll tell them!” the captain yelled back.

  “What is it?” Nova asked.

  “We need to move,” Miko said. “They want to put the stairs down.”

  Odin took a step back, sliding his saddlebag out from under Nova’s arm in the progress. “Thanks,” he said. “Sorry it took so long.”

  “Did you get the stuff?”

  “Yeah.” He held the small bag up. “A few things.”

  Miko raised his hand to still any further conversation. They watched as, slowly, a group of men began to tinker with a compartment on the side of the boat, then as they disengaged a small portion of the side of the ship to lower it down and onto the dock before them.

  “There we go,” Jerdai said, gesturing to the entirety of the ship. “Come aboard, gentlemen. The Annabel awaits!”

  Miko stepped up first, followed by Nova. Odin had just taken his first step when the captain set a hand on his shoulder. “First time on a boat, son?”

  “Yes sir,” he said.

  “Then you’re going to be in for quite the wild ride.”

  Odin couldn’t help but smile as he looked out and at the open sea.

  His adventure could finally start.

  Chapter 5

  They set off at around noon after a group of men returned from the small fishing town with a series of supplies packed into several large wooden boxes.

  In leaning against the railing on the front deck, content with the silence of the moment and ecstatic at the notion that they were finally leaving, Odin watched a group of children wave at the huge boat as it began to exit the harbor. To acknowledge their presence, he raised a hand. The children, in response, jumped up and down, shouting and crying in joy. “Goodbye!” they screamed, as if it would be the last time they would ever see the boat again.

  Soon enough, the dock and town began to grow smaller and smaller across the horizon. With the help of the wind, the sails, and the practical maneuvering the captain displayed, Elna quickly became nothing more than a speck in the distance—a small, indistinguishable blip of nothing that could have been anything but a town itself.

  “Sir,” Odin said, catching sight of Jerdai as he descended the stairs from the second deck and walked into speaking distance. “Where are we going?”

  “Your knight master has forbid me from telling you.” Odin shook his head and sighed. The captain laughed. “I guess it’s been some sort of secret since you left, huh?”

  “Something like that. He hasn’t told me or Nova since we left Ornala.”

  “You came all the way from there to Elna?”

  “In one whole trip,” he s
ighed, “without stopping in any towns.”

  “Damn,” Jerdai whistled. “Bet you’re glad you get to relax for a little.”

  “I… I guess.”

  Before then, he’d never considered relaxing on the boat, as he’d developed a preconceived notion that there would be something to do upon its surface. Apparently, though, Jerdai had just implied that there wouldn’t be much, if anything for him to do.

  “I don’t think you’ll get bored so long as you can entertain yourself,” the man said. “I’d ask for help, but there’s nothing you can do… well, unless you want to cook or scrub the deck, but there’s people here to do that for us.”

  “I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing once I got on the boat.”

  “You’ll find something to do.”

  Jerdai shrugged, turned and made his way to the far side of the ship. Odin sighed and returned his eyes to the sea, where he looked at any and everything he could.

  So far as the eyes could see, nothing except blue swam across the horizon until he turned his eyes to the east—where, there, the land lay, a behemoth resting in the crust of the earth.

  You better figure out a way to keep yourself occupied, he thought, running a hand through his hair.

  With that thought in mind, he looked at the sea for another short moment and began to follow the railing until he came to the stairs leading down into the ship. There, once he descended, he wandered the halls in the hopes that, somehow, maybe on instinct alone, he could find Miko or Nova.

  He should’ve considered asking what room they would be staying in. At least then he wouldn’t be wandering the halls—not that it necessarily mattered, considering it was still daylight and all. For all anyone cared, he could wander the ship all day and not have to owrry about a thing.

  While he walked—slowly, in the hopes that he would eventually become accustomed to the constant back and forth motions of the ship—he examined the ship in detail. The clean, golden-red wood, the darkened floorboards, the occasional scar on the wall—all were signs that such a creation had been used for many a decade, but regardless it seemed to hold its own.

  When he came to the end of a long hall, he set a hand on the table that rested in the center just beneath a painting of the ship. When he looked closer, he saw the title The Lady Annabelle resting in the corner, its title scribed in fine flourishes of white.

  Shortly thereafter, a smile crossed his face.

  He looked at the painting for another short moment before he turned and made his way down the side of the hall. Though not particularly sure where it would take him, he would walk its duration until he came to the end, then turn down the next hall. He figured that, eventually, it would end, or at least bring him back to the entryway from which he’d descended.

  Well, he thought. Here goes nothing.

  Setting one foot forward, he took his first step into the next hall.

  What seemed like hours later, Odin stumbled up onto the deck to find that the sun had risen high above the sky, bleaching water droplets that lay scattered across the ship in brilliant hues of white.

  Raising his hand to cover his eyes, he searched the deck to try and find any trace of Nova, Miko or Jerdai. When he could find none of them, he ascended the rest of the stairs and decided that staying on the deck would be the best way to be noticed. Though he hadn’t particularly been trying to be found, it started to become lonesome, wandering all alone on himself.

  Heh, he thought, sitting near the wall near the stairs, where he could watch the whole deck with little trouble. I used to like being alone. Now I want attention.

  Who could blame him, though? After years of wanting physical interaction and hardly receiving any, who expected him not to want it? Before, the lack of human influence had forced him to draw into himself for his own comfort, as it seemed people were cruel and not in the least bit friendly. Now, however, he wanted to be with them, not alone.

  Maybe this is what it feels like to not have anyone to turn to, he thought.

  After deciding to push the negative feelings aside, he stood and made his way to the bow, where he watched the endless sea in front of him.

  While the sting of not knowing where they were going bothered him an enormous degree, he could push that slight annoyance aside, as finally, after so long, he didn’t have to travel by horseback. That in itself could be seen as a blessing.

  “Hey, kid,” Nova said, sliding up alongside him.

  “Your head feeling better?” Odin asked.

  “Yeah,” the man grunted. “A little.”

  “How do you like the ship?”

  “Not a hell of a lot. I got sick a minute ago.”

  “You did?”

  Nova nodded, scratching the hairs on his chin. “Anyway,” he said. “Where were you? I’ve been looking for you forever.”

  “I was down in the ship.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Just looking around.”

  “Oh.” Nova frowned, then shrugged.

  “What about you?” Odin asked. “What were you doing?”

  “Other than getting sick? Well, I climbed up onto the top deck and looked around, then considered climbing up the net to get in the crow’s nest.”

  “And?”

  “Didn’t feel like scaring the shit out of myself.”

  Suddenly curious, Odin looked up into the air at the monolithic structure above them. The crow’s nest, though innocent in appearance, held the kind of power any incomprehensible object could. Its height, for one, beckoned birds from afar to land in its surface, coating the wood with their shit, while the miniscule crown atop the mast trembled and shifted in both the wind and sea, as if quaking and unable to support its structure. The presence alone of such an uneasy, seemingly-unstructured thing was enough to make Odin swallow a lump in his throat.

  “I don’t blame you,” he said, shivering. “I wouldn’t want to go up there either.”

  “It’d be cool to look out at the ocean and the mainland from so high up, but… well… there’s no way you’d get me to climb up there.”

  They turned their attention away from the nest when a splash went off at their side. A group of long, grey creatures with wide snouts, two flippers and a crescent-shaped dorsal fin jumped out of the water. They squeaked a greeting, fell into the water headfirst, then jumped back again before doing multiple twirls in the air.

  “What are they?” Odin asked.

  “I don’t know,” Nova said.

  Leaning against the rail, he pushed himself as far out as he could in order to look at the creatures. Upon seeing him, they squeaked, then twirled before falling back into the sea.

  “Wow,” Odin smiled. “You see them, Nova?”

  “Yeah,” the man laughed, “but what the hell are they?”

  “They’re called dolphins,” a voice said. A short moment later, Miko slid into place beside Odin and Nova. Still garbed in black, he raised a hand and pointed at them.

  “Dolphins?” Nova frowned.

  “Yes. They’re meat-eating animals.”

  “Fish?”

  “No. They’re anything but fish.”

  “They sure look like fish,” Odin muttered.

  “A fish breathes with its gills. Take another look at these creatures.”

  The dolphins moved a little closer to the boat, as if sensing the land-walking creatures’ curiosity. A few men who had been working to untangle a pile of rope looked up as they neared.

  “I… don’t see what you’re asking me to look for,” Odin said.

  “Neither do I,” Nova added. “What’re we looking for?”

  “A hole on the top of their head,” Miko said.

  With that knowledge, Odin looked closer. Upon closer inspection, the creatures did, in fact, have a hole on their head, just above their eyes and atop the dome of their skull.

  “What does a hole in the head do?” Nova frowned.

  “It helps them breathe,” Miko said.

  “Won’t they drown?” Odin
took another look.

  “No. They have the ability to close them.”

  “So they hold their breath when they’re swimming?”

  “Essentially, yes.” Miko set a hand on the railing and curved his fingers around the wood. “You see, Odin, Nova, the sea holds many secrets from men. While land is easier to explore, and while it may hold secrets of its own, the deep blue sea holds more treasures than any man could ever imagine.”

  “Seems like it,” Nova muttered. He raised a hand to his mouth.

  “What?” Odin asked. “Nova’s, what’s—”

  A stream of clear bile erupted from Nova’s mouth.

  When he leaned over the side of the boat to puke the empty contents of his stomach, the dolphins shrieked. They did not, in the least, approve.

  “It’s ok,” Odin said, setting a hand on his friend’s back. “Take a few breaths.”

  “Thanks kid,” Nova muttered.

  While Nova continued to throw up, Odin closed his eyes, thankful his body wasn’t afraid of the sea.

  That night, the three of them wandered their quarters and examined the few decorations that adorned their space. An eating table in the center, a bookshelf resting against the fall wall, a bathing room equipped with a wooden tub lying just beyond the threshold—it would have seemed that all the basic amenities were covered and their entertainment needs would be divulged in books and other small matters. Miko, the least curious of the three, sat by the window, as he usually did at night, and watched the world beyond the boat. Odin raised his eyes from a book that caught his interest to look at his master, a frown striking his face soon after he looked upon his form.