“Pretty well, I suppose. Austin says I’m a good tactician and Obadiah says he’s never seen someone so adept at not being hit . . . though I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.”
Kenneth laughed loudly and smacked Daniel across the back. “See, lad?” he said. “I knew you would do just fine here!”
“Sometimes I feel like it wasn’t worth the price.”
“What do you mean?”
Daniel shrugged. “Barden is probably in jail right now and after what happened to Mila . . . I mean, it was me for them. It just doesn’t seem like a fair trade.”
Kenneth placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, forcing him to look at the huge warden. “You have to stop thinking like that,” he said. “They didn’t trade themselves for anything. Barden did what he did for you and Aaron because he felt it was right, and Mila made her choice for her own reasons. Not because she was trading herself for you.”
“Still doesn’t seem fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, Daniel. People make choices and some of those choices end in the worst way possible. You can never think about what could have been different because that insults their memory. You must take what they gave you and make the most of it.”
Daniel didn’t answer as they started walking again. They continued their walk down the long path, passing no one as they went, simply taking in the stunning view of the ocean beyond and the docks below. Ships were moored at nearly every available inch and dozens of sailors worked to load or unload trade goods and travel supplies. It was only the second month of summer, so it was still the prime time for trading while the weather was good and there were few chances of a sudden storm. The sight of the ships brought back the memory of Daniel’s arrival in Vigil, then further back still to his journey from Sapella’s Crossing and meeting with Aaron. That, in turn, brought up thoughts of home.
He smiled and wondered how his mother would react to him patrolling the city with Kenneth under the Dragon Guard name. Or how his brother would react, for that matter. Jeremy always thought the world of his older brother. Daniel knew that, though he never truly appreciated it until now, when he was no longer spending every single day with him. Finally, he thought of Connie. He knew how hard it had been for her to finally see him go. How hard it had been for him to go. Now that he was here, though, the thought of being able to see them all again seemed incredibly far away. He felt a rising in his chest that told him he better think of something less upsetting before he broke down.
As they were about to pass a branch off of the path that led to one of the watchtowers along the cliff wall, one of the city guards caught their attention. He was standing at the base of the tower waving them over and shouting something they couldn’t hear. They exchanged a glance before quickly making their way over. The guard vanished back into the tower and they quickly followed him up. When they emerged at the peak they stood on a balcony with the man pointing straight out into the ocean.
Before they even finished stepping off the stairs, the guard started speaking. “There’s a ship approaching. It’s flying the Dragon Guard flags. But there were no arrivals scheduled for today.”
Kenneth peered into the distance. “It looks like one of our scouts,” he said, “but I can’t see anyone aboard. Though it is difficult to tell at this distance . . . it does appear to be empty. Odd.”
As the ship came closer, Daniel was able to make out more details. The peak of the single mast flew the tricolored flags of the Dragon Guard. Aside from the lack of personnel, the ship looked perfectly normal.
Kenneth furrowed his brow and handed Daniel the logbook. “Check the log,” he said. “What ships are out at the moment?”
Daniel took the book, struggling to keep the pages down as the wind blew against the cliff side. He scanned the names of the ships that were currently out on an assignment and the ones which were at port. The Dragon Guard had a dozen smaller scout ships like the one approaching now and two larger war ships, both of which were moored down the beach at the Dragon Guard’s private docks.
“There are three,” Daniel said. “One investigating a wirvus report on the northern coast, and another scouting the Krida coastline. The last is supposed to be moored at the base of The Spines near Navia, where there was some valgret activity near a farmstead.”
“Which is due back the soonest?” Kenneth asked.
“The one on the northern coast, due back end of the month.”
After a while of simply watching the ship come ever closer, Kenneth sighed. “Let’s go, lad,” he said. “We’ll wait for them on the dock. Let’s find out what brought them back early.”
They made their way out of the tower along with the guard and all of them headed down the long steep path as quickly as they could manage. They jogged past the warehouses and workers until they stood at the edge of the docks that the ship appeared to be heading for and waited. It was closing the distance quickly. Daniel noticed something that worried him greatly. “Kenneth,” he said, “they aren’t slowing down.”
“They aren’t on a proper approach either. Coming in at an odd angle.”
The scout ship was riding the wind toward the dock, moving alarmingly fast. Daniel still saw no one standing at the helm or anywhere else for that matter. Kenneth grabbed Daniel by the shoulder and they slowly started to back away, which quickly turned into a sprint down the length of the dock as the ship slammed into it with an ear-shattering crack, sending wood shards flying in all directions and making the planks beneath them shudder from the impact. The sound of wood scraping wood was deafening as the ship slowly came to a halt. Cracked and broken, the ship was being held afloat only by the dock at this point. The sudden stop had broken the single mast, making it fall forward to rest over the dock. The flags slapped against the water on the other side.
Kenneth turned to the guard and spoke quickly. “Get to the keep and alert the commander.”
The guard nodded and sprinted toward the road leading to the city gate while Kenneth and Daniel slowly approached the ship. Kenneth drew his sword and took his shield from his back. Daniel followed suit, drawing his own sword and letting Kenneth take the lead. They had no idea what could be on the ship, so caution was the best course of action for the time being. Embedded all along the hull were throwing axes with double-bladed heads, each intricately detailed with what looked like fire, along with a short spike at the bottom of the handle. The handles were also lined with white and brown fur. The ship was a few feet taller than the dock and had lodged at an upward angle, so Kenneth had to climb over the edge to board. When he was over, Daniel followed to see what they had both been dreading.
“By Verhova, what happened to them?” Kenneth spoke in a whisper.
The deck was covered in blood. Bodies were strewn about, each inflicted with wounds of various sizes. Most were lying on the deck in their own blood which explained why they saw no one on board. The scout ship was meant to house at most six people. Judging by the clothing, the crew had been rangers, while the other three bodies were men larger than Kenneth. They clearly didn’t belong. They definitely weren’t Dragon Guards, judging by their choice of clothing or lack thereof. They wore no tunic or upper body armor, so their chest and backs were exposed. Their legs were lightly armored and their trousers were covered and lined with fur. Gripped in their hands were swords and axes large enough to match their stature.
Kenneth spoke softly, as if he might disturb them: “Don’t touch anything if you can manage it.”
Daniel heard coughing and turned to see there was a ranger at the helm that still lived. They were hidden behind the wheel again, explaining why they couldn’t see her from afar. She was starting to come to, coughing up blood as she tried to rise to her feet, but only managed to fall away from the helm and to her knees.
Kenneth ran over and placed a hand on her chest and back to gently lay her against the cabin wall. “What happened here?” he said gently
. He placed a hand over a wide gash on her stomach to try to slow the bleeding.
She spoke through ragged breaths and blood: “Krida . . . hand . . . ” Her breathing came in quick spurts for a few moments before she went still.
Kenneth removed his hand from the wound and stood. He looked thoughtful for a moment before turning to the cabin and heading inside. While he was gone, Daniel turned to inspect the strange men that he guessed were the attackers. Their backs were covered in identical scars. On closer inspection, he saw that the scars were part of a pattern along their whole backside. They looked almost like wings, starting at the shoulder blades and extending to their lower backs. Their hair was long and seemed to be multicolored and braided into multiple thick strands, with bones and adornments weaved into the locks.
He turned from the bodies to examine the weapons they’d carried. Some were simple clubs made of large chunks of bone from a creature he wasn’t sure he would ever want to see. There were also broadaxes. Like their smaller counterparts in the hull, they were covered with intricate marks that looked like fire coming off the edges of the blades. The hafts were covered with dark leather and different-colored fur ran along their length. He felt the fur and found it heavy and coarse.
Kenneth emerged from the cabin. “There’s no one else aboard.”
Daniel was still inspecting the blades as he spoke. “She said Krida . . . did the Kridens attack them?”
Kenneth walked over and crouched down by Daniel. “They’re not the friendliest folk, from what I hear. Judging by all this, I’d have to agree.”
“So what are they doing here?”
“That is a good question, lad.”
Kenneth instructed the city guards that were still nearby to keep civilians off the docks and for the sailors to halt their work and stay onboard their ships for the time being. It took nearly two hours for a group of rangers and scholars to arrive and board the ship. The scholars asked if anything had been touched. Kenneth told them that the only thing that had been moved was the woman who’d been at the helm. This seemed to annoy them slightly.
Kenneth took Daniel back to the road leading up to the gate and they started their slow walk back. The rangers had said the commander wanted to speak with them since they had been there first hand. By the time they made it to the keep and up the stairs to the commander’s office where the council was already waiting, it had been close to an hour. Daniel felt oddly nervous. He hadn’t had many chances to speak with Commander Hall, only brief words in the dining hall or as they passed one another on a rare occasion.
Kenneth was the first to enter the office, leaving Daniel to wait outside the door for several minutes before he was allowed inside. Now he stood across the table from the four leaders of the Dragon Guard. His fear started to creep back as Kenneth left the room and closed the door behind him. The sun’s rays filtered through the stained glass behind Hall, painting the room in myriad colors.
“Hello, Mr. Summers,” Commander Hall said. He leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk. “Tell us exactly what happened.”
He did as he was asked and told them everything he could remember, even the smallest details such as the feel of the fur and the designs on the blades. When he was finished, the captains exchanged glances. Hall rubbed his chin while Captain Hawk walked around behind Daniel, motioning for him to follow before tapping on the map spread out on a table just behind Daniel.
“Are you absolutely sure she said ‘Krida’ and ‘hand,’ nothing more?” Hawk asked, sounding slightly unconvinced.
Daniel nodded and looked at where Hawk was indicating on the map. It was a shoreline across the sea from Edaren with the word Krida written in large, flowing letters over the landmass. The map beyond the shore was blank, meaning it was uncharted territory.
He looked back to Hawk. “I’m sure. It was ‘Krida,’ then ‘hand.’” Before they could reply he continued. “I don’t mean to pry, but why would the Kridens attack us? Claudia hasn’t told us much about them yet since we’re mostly focusing on Edaren history and geography at the moment. I never really heard much about them back in Sapella. But I thought they kept to themselves for the most part.”
Hawk bit his lip and considered the question. “The Kridens are rather . . . primitive. They’re a tribal community. Stature is based on skill in battle and battles are waged between tribes. Beyond that, we don’t know very much. The language barrier is hard to overcome when they try to kill you every time you try to speak to them.”
“So why would they be on one of our scout ships?”
Coe stood and started for the door. “I think that’s enough questions,” he said. “Matters like this aren’t your concern. If you wish to know more about the Kridens, there are books in the library that you can consult. You are dismissed from your duties for the day. Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Summers.”
With that, Daniel was ushered out the door and back down the stairs. He knew that the captains could handle whatever was wrong, but he still had a feeling that he couldn’t shake. It was as if a heavy chill had settled over him, making him feel stiff. He tried to shrug it off as nothing more than the adrenaline of what had just happened wearing off. He decided that he might as well go to the library and check on the books Coe had mentioned, if for no other reason than to fulfill his curiosity.
He quickly walked down the stairs to the library and started combing through the shelves, looking for anything that might relate to the land across the sea. His frustration mounted as he searched the hundreds of books on the shelves. He had found where the proper books should have been but the spaces on the shelves were empty. He kept looking and when he still came up empty, he simply stood in the middle of a row of shelves and stared at the space. He could forget it and find something else to occupy his time, but now, with his curiosity piqued, he knew that wouldn’t happen. He returned to the library entrance and saw Claudia standing over a tall stack of books, a look of concentration on her face. He strode up to her. She held up a finger as she finished reading a page in one of the books and quickly wrote a few lines down on a parchment next to her.
“I thought you had patrol duty today,” she said. She set the book aside and grabbed another without looking at him.
“I was told that I was dismissed for the rest of the day after what happened.”
“What happened?” A look of concern flashed over her face. He quickly explained.
“Interesting,” Claudia said. “So what are you doing here?”
He gestured to the row of shelves where he’d been looking. “I was trying to find some of the books on Krida that Captain Coe mentioned, but they aren’t there. I was hoping you would know where they were.”
“Hmm,” Claudia said. “I’m not sure but I’ll check the log for you.”
She walked over to a nearby desk set against the wall and opened a drawer to pull out a thick, leather-bound book. It was the log where the titles of books currently removed from the library were written, as well as the name of who had them. She scanned the pages until she finally tapped a line.
“Looks like Clara has them, along with . . . ” she paused as she counted, which was quickly followed by a sigh, “about a dozen others.”
“I should have guessed it was her,” Daniel said. He smiled before heading for the door. “Thank you, Claudia.”
He exited the library through the main doorway and circled around the keep to their barracks. He reached the two-door building and approached the door to the girls’ boarding house. He nearly opened it without thinking but stopped short and lifted his hand to rap his knuckles on the door instead. A few seconds later, the door swung inward. Griffon stood on the other side holding a half-finished wood figure.
She looked at him curiously. “What?”
“Is Clara in there?”
“No. She’s on gate duty. Why?”
“She took some books from the l
ibrary a little while ago. I was wondering if I could borrow them for a bit.”
Griffon looked at him for a moment before stepping to the side and letting him through the door. The long room was almost identical to the boys’ side, with cots and wardrobes lining each wall, though the girls had the added benefit of dividers between their beds.
“Her bed is in the back right corner,” Griffon said.” She’s read most of them a dozen times and hasn’t taken them back yet, so help yourself.”
Daniel strolled over to Clara’s cot and saw that strewn around it were dozens of books. Some had bookmarks sticking out of them and some were open with the spine facing up, while others had been left open to whatever page she was on. Clara may have loved to read, but she certainly didn’t take care of her books. It looked like a storm had blown through the area. Daniel sighed and searched through the mess until he found the ones he was looking for, three books titled Kriden Culture, Krida and Edaren Relations, and The Southern Reports. Once he had the books in hand, Griffon quickly ushered him out without a word. Back in his own room, he sat on his bed and decided to start with the one he thought would interest him the least, Krida and Edaren Relations.
Krida and Edaren first made contact in the 1,802nd year of the Third Age, 527 years earlier. The name for the nation came from the natives. The meaning of Krida was currently unknown. Like the name, not much else was translated. There were a few words here and there, but nothing of note. Aside from the obvious lack of knowledge on each other’s language, it seemed Edaren and Krida started off on relatively good terms. The two nations were close to one another and trade quickly started between Edaren and some of the coastal tribes.
But for an unknown reason, trade stopped just after two years of steady contact. Any envoys sent by Dalisia from then on were killed once they set foot in tribal territory. In addition, Krida tribes that had been near the shoreline suddenly went inland, where the stronger and more savage tribes made their home. Shortly after, organized patrols started dotting the coast. Dalisia wrote the land off and decided to simply let the Kridens be for the time being and would attempt to reestablish contact later when the Kridens’ assumed paranoia had calmed. Daniel didn’t see anything else of note in the book so he set it aside and picked up the next.
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