Elpis

by Aaron McGowan

  He had once felt the fields and farmlands surrounding Edellerston extended forever, but standing on a small boat in the middle of the sea was a much more imposing sight. At the very least, it was a lot more troubling of a sight. There was still the possibility this rickety old boat would decide to just start sinking—and then what would Terico do? There was a rowboat in the storage room, but Terico doubted somewhat that they’d actually be able to use it to reach land before dying of thirst. Well, except for Areo.

  “So, she’s quite the lovely one,” Borely said, staring out toward Areo. She was still looking out into the waves, too far away to hear Borely’s dialogue.

  Terico was a little startled by the captain’s timing. “Um, okay.”

  Borely leaned over to Terico as if to tell a secret. “She’s definitely the loveliest lady to grace this humble deck. This is probably her first time aboard a ship, I’d wager. She looks like she hasn’t seen much sun at all, really.”

  “I suppose,” Terico said.

  “Is she an elf, by the way?” Borely pointed at his ears a moment. “I didn’t notice before since she’s got her hair over her ears, but this morning I thought I saw some points.”

  “She... doesn’t talk about herself much,” Terico said. He doubted Areo would want him letting random people know about her being a vampire.

  “That’s true,” Borely said. “Tried a dozen times to get a good conversation going with her, but she’s an aloof one! Plays hard to get... Not that I mind—I like women like that. I’ll be sure to learn more about her when we have our private dinner tonight.”

  “Oh... kay,” Terico said. He really didn’t care where this was going. And he rather doubted that Areo would ever actually have this private dinner Borely spoke of.

  “I’m surprised that you two weren’t a couple,” Borely said. “Pleasantly surprised, of course. But does that mean you have a girlfriend back home then?”

  Terico stared out at a small, delicate cloud in the distant horizon. He still had no idea what may or may not have happened to Suran. Did she die in Delkol’s attack? Was she captured? Could she have suffered the same fate as Turan? Or worse? All this time, she could be suffering, and Terico not know a single thing about it. What if she needed him right now? He was out in the middle of the sea, and Suran could very well be undergoing the darkest of horrors at the Brotherhood’s expense.

  He could still remember the time he spent with her the day of the attack. How she had brought his mother elven herbs for the sick. How she had prepared breakfast for everyone. And how she spoke so kindly to him, always concerned for his well-being. Terico hadn’t been able to ask her to spend the day with him during the upcoming festival—which would have long passed by now had it actually happened. Had the village not been utterly decimated.

  It was all a moot point now, but some of Terico’s greatest guilt that day came from not being able to find Suran when the Brotherhood attacked. He should have gone with her when she left to help her brother with something. Had he been there with her, he could have protected her.

  “I take that as a no,” Borely said.

  Terico remembered the question, but didn’t really want to get into it. The fact that he wasn’t there for Suran when she needed him most was painful enough as it was.

  Do I really deserve to ever be anything to her? he thought. If she is still alive, that is.

  The day passed slowly, and there was little for Terico to do but reflect on his many mistakes and reaffirm his decisions and intentions for the future. Somehow he would make things right as best he could. It seemed clear that his world could never be as it once was, but there was still much he could do. If he could find an Elpis fragment in the eigni city, he’d be one step closer to achieving his goals.

  He thought back to the power he briefly wielded in the underground city. It was only a matter of time before he would have it again. And with more of the fragments combined, the power would only be greater—exponentially greater.

  The possibilities the whole Elpis stone presented were likely too magnificent for Terico to even comprehend. What limits would there be to his power then? Would there be any at all?

  Would he be able to shape his world precisely as he wished?

  Perhaps his world could be as it once was.

  Areo had met plenty of fools over the course of her long life, so this wasn’t the first time she had to put up with someone who got on her nerves. And in all honesty, there were people she knew who were even more ridiculous than Borely was. But the thing that bothered her most was the fact Borely wasn’t a complete idiot who didn’t know when to quit. She could tell it was just a facade, and she really didn’t wish to see him keep acting like this for the rest of the boat trip.

  And so, to Terico and Jujor’s dismay, she accepted Borely’s invitation to a private dinner.

  If Borely was surprised as well, he managed to hide it behind a cool smile and all-knowing gleam in his eyes.

  He brought Areo down to the room she had shared with Terico and Jujor, and set up a makeshift table by laying a large, circular slab of wood atop one of the cots. He pushed the other two beds to either side of the table, apparently intending them to act as chairs. Then after setting a candle down in the middle of the table, Borely took one of the lit candles hanging on the wall and used it to light the one on the table. With everything arranged as he saw fit, he hurried back upstairs to procure whatever it was he intended to provide for the dinner.

  Of course, Areo wasn’t going to be able to eat anything Borely would bring, but she doubted he would mind. He came back a minute later with a bottle of wine in one hand, and some foodstuff wrapped in cloth in his other hand. It turned out to be a smoked fish, some kind of dark bread, and a hunk of pale cheese. Areo didn’t recognize what these foods were precisely, and it had been a long time since she had been exposed to the smells of human cuisine like this. Perhaps it all would have smelled nice to her before she became a vampire, but at this point she merely felt indifferent.

  “Wish I had better,” Borely said, “but this will work nicely, I believe.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” Areo said. “I really would just like to chat for the most part, though.”

  “Oh, that’s great!” Borely said. “I’d love to learn more about you, Areo.”

  “Really?” Areo asked. “That wouldn’t be very aloof of me, though. Wouldn’t you prefer I play hard to catch?”

  “Oh, wow,” Borely said, grimacing. “You heard all that?”

  “I have pretty good hearing,” Areo said. “But if you want to learn more about me, I’d like to know who it is I’m dealing with here.” She pointed a hand toward Borely. “Who are you? I find it a bit strange that a man your age is aimlessly wandering the seas all by himself.”

  Borely placed his hands on the bed to either side of him and leaned back a bit. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been traveling the seas. Of course, I wasn’t alone then. My parents ran a large cargo ship, and I helped them out along with my older brother. And that’s how I’ve always spent my days—can’t think of much else I could be doing.”

  “You’re alone now, though,” Areo said. “What happened?”

  For a moment Borely looked at Areo with an almost thoughtful look in his eyes. “Well, that’s how things go... Back when I was nine, the port of Merze was a more dangerous place than it is today. Vampires would sneak onto boats at night, and once the ships were far from shore, they’d attack in the middle of the night. And sometimes... the people they turn into vampires go mad.”

  Areo felt her throat go tight. Borely was speaking generally, but it was clear he was referring to what must have happened to his family’s ship.

  “Sometimes...” Borely continued, “Sometimes even a brother will turn against you. A boy turned vampire can lash out against anyone—even his own parents. And just tear away at everyone. Kill every single person on the ship... and force you to kill him.”

  Areo looked down to the table, letting this
revelation sink in. She had killed people before, including Krug just a few days ago—but the thought of having to kill your own sibling was unthinkable. She didn’t have any brothers or sisters while growing up, but she had Jenba in Istal. Would she be willing to kill him if her life depended on it? It was the sort of decision nobody should ever have to make.

  There was also the dilemma on her mind regarding Borely’s outlook on vampires. The average human had a negative view of them to begin with, and the slaughter of Borely’s entire family would surely have left him bitter, at the very least. There was no telling what he would do if he found out Areo was a vampire.

  But to lose his parents, and then have to kill his own brother—all at the age of nine. Areo could only imagine how Borely was able to move on after such a life-shattering experience.

  “I’m sorry,” Borely said, forcing a smile back on his face. “I didn’t mean to just share a sad story. I’ve done quite fine for myself, really. I keep to the seas and try to keep my family proud as best I can. It’s not the most glamorous of professions, but it’s nice to help people get to where they need to go. I meet all sorts of people, and it’s always nice to look out at the seas and skies.”

  “I see,” Areo said. She doubted Borely’s life was as carefree as he made it out to be, though. It was rather unlikely that Borely had an easy time making a living as a young orphan in the harsh environment of a shipyard. It probably took him many years of hard work to obtain this ship, as broken-down as it was.

  Borely poured a couple cups of wine and set one down for Areo, then took his and gulped it down quickly. “Ah... there’s been ups and downs, but that’s how life is, you know? I’d have to say this particular trip is a high point in my life.”

  Areo glanced to her right. “Oh, really.”

  “Yes, I’m glad to have met you,” Borely said. “I hope things have been going well for you lately as well.”

  She had agreed to share a bit about herself, but she obviously couldn’t tell him some of the most basic things about who she was. “No, I’m afraid not. I lost my parents when I was young as well, but there was a man who raised me as a father later on. He was recently killed, unfortunately.”

  Borely turned somber, and to his credit Areo felt this was one of his more genuine expressions. “I’m sorry... I didn’t realize...”

  “It’s okay,” Areo said. It was surprisingly thoughtful of Borely to try apologizing for his behavior, but there was no way he could have understood Areo’s situation. He still didn’t know the truth, and Areo didn’t intend to drag him any further into things. “I will be fine. It just... leaves this empty feeling.”

  Borely nodded. “It lingers. For a while it hurts, and some days you just don’t care about anything anymore. You just want it all to end. But... it passes eventually. Perhaps not entirely, but enough for you to go on living. To make the most of things. You’re never certain, but you feel that there is a way to move on. Perhaps the path you end up taking is the best one, perhaps it isn’t. But you take it and hope for the best.” A long smile spread across his face. “Or something like that.”

  Areo shook her head, but couldn’t help but smile a little as well. The advice was both overly simplistic and a bit meaningless, making the whole monologue fairly ridiculous. But it was a nice sentiment, nonetheless. “Thanks, Captain Borely.”

  “Not a problem, madame. But you can call me Borely, if you wish. Though if you must use an adjective, there’s always Handsome Borely. Or Ravishing Borely. Or from you, I wouldn’t mind hearing Sweet Borely or Dearest Borely.”

  Areo frowned. Certainly can’t call him Subtle Borely any time soon, she thought.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Terico was able to get more sleep that night, mainly due to the fact he had gotten so little the previous night. The constant shifting of the ship still bothered him at some level, but he was able to keep his thoughts directed elsewhere for the majority of the rest of the trip.

  By noon Jujor was up again, and to pass the time he brought up a deck of cards to play with. He sat down near the helm so Borely could play as well. Terico and Areo sat down with them.

  “You all know how to play individuals?” Jujor asked.

  Everyone said yes—as far as Terico knew, individuals was one of the better-known card games.

  “Great, I’ll deal,” Jujor said. He handed each of them eight cards.

  Terico looked his cards over, finding three dead trees, two princesses, a hawk, a mountain, and an archer. Three of the images were major constellations, so Terico needed to get five others in order to complete the set and win the game. It was a game where each player needed to deceive the others in order to get the specific cards they needed.

  As the game went on, it seemed pretty clear Areo was ending up with most of the major constellations.

  “Did you play individuals a lot with your brother?” Terico asked.

  “Yes,” Areo said. “He was much better at it, though. I preferred playing central village.”

  Jujor drew a card and looked his hand over. “It seems Terico has had some practice as well. You played with your classmates at school, I take it?”

  “From time to time,” Terico said. “I wasn’t very interested in card games, but Turan liked them a lot.” Terico stopped, not really wishing to talk more about his past. On days they didn’t have any escapades into the caverns planned, Turan often dragged Terico into a game of cards after school with whoever else they could find. Sometimes Suran and her brother Lanek would play, if they didn’t have things they had to do at home.

  Terico’s thoughts drifted to times he would go with Suran and Lanek to help them out with tasks their parents gave them. Their parents were mechanics, and spent much of their days designing parts for airships, a kind of transport that floated in the air like a balloon, but looked more like giant ships. Supposedly Suran’s parents had constructed an entire airship in the city of Plien, but Terico never saw anything more than the metal parts he helped Suran and Lanek craft at their workshop.

  “It’s your turn, Terico,” Borely said, breaking Terico’s train of thought.

  “Oh, pass,” Terico said.

  “You look a little distant there,” Jujor said.

  “I’m just... thinking,” Terico said.

  “A good habit to have,” Borely said. “What’s on your mind?”

  “Just the things I used to do,” Terico said. “My old life, I guess.”

  “Where are you from?” Borely asked.

  Terico pushed his cards together into a little stack and gripped them with one hand. “Edellerston. It’s destroyed now, though.”

  “Oh...” Borely said. He glanced to Jujor and Areo. “Is that where all of you were from?”

  “For a while,” Jujor said. “I’ve lived at a lot of places, but Edellerston was where I spent my last fifteen or so years.”

  “I... grew up near Otosel,” Areo said. As Terico expected, she didn’t mention living in Istal.

  “I’m just curious how you all ended up together on this little voyage,” Borely said. “And why you’re going to Vursa, of all places.”

  “It’s best we don’t give the purpose of our journey,” Jujor said.

  Borely sat up straight, a great smile beaming on his face. “Oh, really?”

  “I’m serious,” Jujor said. “It’s best you not get involved in this.”

  “Oh, I’ve figured it all out already,” Borely said, folding his arms.

  Jujor’s eyebrows fell flat, and his lips tightened into a deep frown. “No, you haven’t.”

  “It all goes back to the Brotherhood,” Borely said. “There’s been a lot of talk about them, lately. War is inevitable, and it sounds like the Shire Kingdom’s armies have begun to assemble for a full-scale invasion. But the Brotherhood has been getting things ready for them, striking lots of key locations to prepare the way for the main armies.

  “So I’m guessing the Brotherhood attacked your home town. And I’m also gues
sing the Brotherhood killed Areo’s father. And therefore it’s probably safe to say that the Brotherhood is up to something in Vursa now. I’ve heard that airships have been sighted heading back and forth between there and the Shire Kingdom.”

  “I’m not going to respond,” Jujor said.

  “There’s no reason to hide anything from me,” Borely said. “I’m on your side in this. I don’t have anything personal against the Brotherhood, but I’ve heard enough stories of their murders and destruction in general. I’d be perfectly glad to bust a few of their skulls for the greater good.”

  “You can fight?” Terico asked.

  Borely set his cards down, then put his hands into fists and raised them up in front of himself. “I’ve had to protect my ship’s goods more than once. I can handle things in the heat of a battle.”

  “You can help us out if you want,” Terico said, “but suffice to say we may be entering a dangerous situation.” There was the chance they could run into the Brotherhood, considering they were searching for the Elpis fragments as well. They were apparently going by accurate data—enough to know there was one at Edellerston somewhere, at least. And there was the possibility there would be monsters similar to the forsaken in Vursa as well. That is, if the Elpis was there at all. Jujor himself wasn’t entirely certain about the locations marked on the map in his book.

  “Great!” Borely said. “I would do anything to make sure Areo’s mission is a complete success.”

  “It’s not my mission,” Areo said. “I’m just helping Terico and Jujor.” And from what Terico understood, trying to decide if she wanted to personally help bring down the Brotherhood.

  “Our mission isn’t what you think it’s going to be,” Jujor told Borely. “If you come with us, you’ll have to vow to keep everything a secret. Otherwise... you’ll be made to keep quiet.”