“Damn!” Bevy swore. “This isn’t working. They are ten minutes off our port bow and there are no damn ships in sight. Crew! Get ready to come about. It will buy us another twenty minutes.”
“Sir, two masts off the starboard!” The lookout yelled. “They are Avish sir, bearing straight down on us. Will be on us in thirty.”
“Not quite soon enough,” Bevy said to herself. “Mr. Capps put us due north. Unfurl the top sail! Pull out all the stops. We are sailing for our life!”
Sarah watched anxiously as they turned due north for what the schooner would do.
“The schooner is changing course south!” The lookout yelled. “The friendlies scared her away!”
Cheers went up around the ship. Svae and Alanna hugged each other, and Sarah made as if to go to Winn, but she stopped. Even Winn had a smile on his face.
After the celebrations died down Bevy prepared to receive visitors from the Avish warships, which meant she went and changed out of her night shirt into a captain’s uniform. She directed that Svae and her team to take Winn and go below and hide in the wardroom, out of site of the visitors.
A few minutes later, a launch from the closest ship, the AMS Predator came alongside the Lydia.
“The Predator requests permission to board!” Yelled out one of the sailors on the launch.
“Permission granted!” Shouted Bevy over the hull. The Lydia’s crew lowered a rope ladder and two men climbed aboard.
“Welcome to the merchant ship Lydia,” Bevy said once the men were on board. “I am Captain Blanche Sully. I owe you thanks for scaring the Menegar ships away.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, captain. I am Lieutenant Commander Chapin, first mate of the AMS Predator, and my companion is Ensign Betts. Thank you for having us aboard. We wanted to make sure everyone on board was OK and to understand why you were coming from the direction of Menegar, with the Menegar vessels chasing you.”
“Sir, we were sailing from Xi En and a storm blew us into Menegar waters. Luckily there was no major damage to our vessel, and we were able to make sail to the north. However, we ran into a patrol of Menegar ships just as we were leaving their waters. We managed to outrun them to Avish waters but to our dismay they did not break off their pursuit at that point. You saved us, that is for sure, and we thank you dearly.”
“We are glad to oblige and will always protect our merchant fleet. Funny thing though, sailing to Xi En was forbidden months ago by the King. I could confiscate your ship for violating that ruling.”
“Sir we have been in Xi En for a long time and were unaware of the King’s ruling. We are all citizens of Aviel, would you deny us our goods and our ship because we wanted to go home.”
“No, madam captain. You all look Avish and you have the right accent. We would like to inspect your hold to make sure you are carrying legal goods and no spies are stowed aboard.”
“Be my guest, sir.”
Bevy led the two guests down to the cargo hold where they inspected barrels, parcels, and boxes of goods. They searched for anyone that might be hiding down there but found no one. They emerged and the ensign whispered something in the Lieutenant Commander’s ear. He shook his head.
“Betts is eager to search your quarters and the wardroom, but I don’t think it is necessary. Your store of goods and the lack of any stowaways in the hold have convinced me you are not carrying any Menegar on board. You strike me as having a naval bearing, by the way. Which is silly because there aren’t any female naval officers except for the fleet admiral’s daughter.”
“I’m obviously not her. My family has been made up of merchants for many generations.”
“Yes, I am sure. Our business is done here. Come Betts, let us depart and make our report to the captain. Thank you for your hospitality. I would offer you an escort home, but we must complete our patrol, and besides you will be safe in these waters.”
“Thank you, sir, I am sure we will be. Farewell.”
“Farewell,” said Chapin as he climbed down the rope ladder into the launch. Bevy stood at the side of the ship until the launch was halfway to the AMS Predator. She turned and walked toward the wardroom.
“That was close,” Bevy said when she entered the wardroom, which was crowded. “They threatened to confiscate the ship. Wait, who are you?”
Chapter 15: Flustered Gods
August 13, 850 A.A.
She was referring to a woman with long dark hair that looked to be in her mid-twenties, but there was something different about her that Bevy couldn’t place.
“I am Allesca, Goddess of Healing, and I am here to see about Winn. First, princess come to me. What did you do to your face?”
“I had to disguise myself,” Sarah said. “I used poison celak to make my face break out.”
“Dear, don’t you know you could have scarred your face permanently?” Allesca asked. “I will take care of it this time, but don’t ever do that to your face again.”
“Yes Allesca.”
Allesca took her finger and touched it to Sarah’s face. Bevy gasped along with Svae and everyone else in the room as Sarah’s face miraculously cleared up and her smooth and flawless complexion was restored. Bevy marveled at her beauty. She had never seen the princess up close.
“Princess, you are as beautiful as ever,” Alana said.
“Thank you, Alana, I certainly feel more like myself now, but it is for naught unless Winn is cured. Allesca, thank you for healing me. Can you heal Winn?”
“I am not sure, Sarah,” Allesca said. “He has been in the clutches of pure evil. I won’t know what they have done to him and what I can do about it until I examine him.”
“I don’t know you,” Winn yelled. “Don’t touch me.”
Allesca left Sarah’s side and approached Winn.
“Yes, you know me,” Allesca said. “I saved your life, I saved Svae’s life at your insistence. I am your friend. I offered to be your lover.” Sarah gasped as she said that. Allesca reached out and touched his arm. “Remember the feeling of me touching you? My warm and soothing touch?”
Winn said nothing, but his expression changed from surly to thoughtful.
“Does every goddess want to dilly my husband?” muttered Sarah.
“I do remember you. You wouldn’t heal my horse. You let Rugur Xaden die. You are a twisted bitch who likes it when people suffer.”
“You are partially right. My guess is that you believe the half-truths and outright lies you spew forth. This gives me some insight into your affliction, but I am afraid of what force could have separated your brain from reality so effectively.” She turned to the others. “Take him out on deck. What has to be done needs to happen in the sunlight.”
Everyone exited the wardroom and came out on the main deck. Bevy had the sailors make room for them.
“Before you start,” Sarah said. “Why did you not heal him in Menegar? Surely he would have been easy to heal there.” Before Allesca could answer, two more figures appeared, Ippili and Samir. Ippili was wearing courtly clothes and looked like he came from a concert. Samir was floating about 2 span off the ground in a seated position.
“Let me answer that Allesca,” said Ippili. “Dear Sarah, we all wanted to come to Winn’s rescue.”
“Including me, daughter,” said the voice of Vanya in all their heads.
“However, Jezel is strong in Menegar, and we can tell from here that he is the one that afflicted Winn with his illness, which may make it impossible for Allesca to cure. Jezel is the one enemy we have that can kill us and wipe us from existence. He also made his gods Ures, Melevia, and Sidean strong enough to beat us down and hold us for Jezel, so we could not cross into Menegar waters or land to help Winn.”
“You weren’t willing to risk your own skin for him,” Svae said. “He has risked his life countless times for the Almighty and Aviel, and this is the thanks you pay him. We are human and we risked our lives to go in to Menegar to save him.”
“You had our protection,
” Samir said. “I blessed you all with stealth and quickness, and Vanya blessed you with victory. You were successful in finding Winn and bringing him back.”
“You let us do your dirty work for you,” Sarah said. “None of you were brave enough to help the human you care about the most. You gods really do play games with us.”
“Daughter don’t be a fool. One spiritual being risked everything to same Winn’s mind from complete destruction. Mikel appeared before the sorceress Eksela and struck her down just before she destroyed Winn’s mind.”
“The angels are brave, and the gods are not?” Alana asked.
“No dear, the angels are powerful, and Mikel had a chance to survive, and the gods in this case did not,” Allesca said. “We cannot hide from each other, Ures and the rest would know where we were the instant, we stepped in Menegar. They would appear with Jezel and smite us down. Jezel does not have that power in Aurella because the Almighty is strong here. Now enough of this bickering. It’s time to heal, but Jaunty now that I am close to you, I feel your pain. You have infection and your blinded eye is a constant source of pain. Close your blinded eye.”
Jaunty did and Allesca touched his eye for a minute and then she touched his chest and his feet.
“I can see!” Jaunty said, “I don’t feel intense pain anymore.”
“I can’t make your toes grow back, but I cured all the infection,” Allesca said.
“Thank you so much,” said Jaunty.
“Now to Winn.” Winn was seated on the deck with ropes tied so that he couldn’t move his arms from his sides. They had tied him up against the mast, so he wouldn’t be able to move away from Allesca.
“Besides his memories being compromised, is there any other aberrant behavior he has exhibited?”
“He has a hatred for all but a few people,” Sarah said. “I think he would kill every one of us if he got mad, but he has a violent hate toward me. More so than for anyone else.”
“I will look for a spell or curse that targets you first. It will be easier to lift that first than the whole affliction at once. Ippili, Samir, could you hold him down please?”
Ippili walked over to Winn. “Hey buddy, Allesca is going to make you better.” Winn spat in his face. Samir floated down and walked over to Winn and grabbed his other side. He didn’t say a word and Winn didn’t engage him. Allesca reached out with her right hand and softly touched Winn’s head. She immediately started shaking. She leaned into Winn and clutched his head with both hands, and she started shaking more violently. She let out a yelp and Winn started laughing violently. Suddenly there was a loud boom sound and all three of the gods were thrown off Winn and his bonds were broken. Winn stood up and looked at everyone. They were all in shock.
“I should kill everyone on this ship,” Winn said. “You are all against me. Jaunty, even you are with these traitors now? I see who your friends really are.”
“Winn, these are all your friends,” said Jaunty.
“You may be, but not the others,” Winn said. “I remember all the things they have done to me. Vant you and the boys left me for dead in Sapon. Alana, you knifed me in the back in Rama when I took you to the palace. Svae I told you what you did. Sarah, my dearest Sarah, we had a love once, but it was an illusion. When I left you never even said goodbye. You told me you would find me, but that was just a lie. Sarah, I don’t believe in our love. It never was, it never will be.”
“No Winn that is not true, none of it!” Sarah yelled. “Our love was and is true. I did tell you goodbye when you left. I gave you the best kiss of my life. I have found you. Don’t you see? Our love will never die because I won’t let it.”
Winn was quiet for a moment. “You gods, you sicken me. You were supposed to be my friends, but you harmed me at every turn. Allesca you wouldn’t heal my horse and he died. Ippili you gave me a useless gift but nothing that would help me. Vanya you promised victory but here I am defeated and twisted, I don’t know what is true and what is a lie anymore. Samir, you gave me the skills to fight but I was powerless to fight the ones who cursed me. Where was my protection? Where was my defense? Ha! I am no champion! I am but a tool for whatever god has me in their clutches. I am your fool no longer!”
Winn launched a powerful kick at Ippili, who disappeared and reappeared about 6 span away.
“Winn, I don’t want to hurt you,” Ippili said.
“I will handle this,” said Samir.
The ancient appearing god approached Winn. “You want to fight a god? Fight me.”
“Gladly old man,” Winn said.
Winn threw the first strike and it was a death strike with his fist going straight for Samir’s heart. Samir blocked it and threw a kick at Winn’s midsection. Winn dodged and connected with a punch to Samir’s side. Samir didn’t react at all and struck a glancing blow on Winn’s neck, then threw six punches at Winn, stepping forward with each punch. Winn blocked all six and kicked out with a round house which Samir avoided but Winn followed up with a hit to Samir’s face with a powerful punch. Samir staggered back then flew up to the boom on the main mast and Winn followed. As Winn landed Samir snaked a kick into Winn’s abdomen that was so powerful Winn doubled over. Samir launched into a scissor kick that threw Winn back against the mast. Samir threw two punches and Winn dodged them so that Samir hit the pole. Winn could hear the crack of the wood. Winn swept the legs and Samir fell on the boom. Winn launched a vicious kick at Samir’s face, but Samir grabbed his leg and threw Winn off the boom. Winn somersaulted in the air and while floating slammed a double kick into Samir’s chest. Samir flew off the main mast and landed on the foremast. He righted himself as Winn came flying with a forward kick. Samir jumped over the kick then slammed down with his fist on Winn’s face and he plummeted down and slammed against the forecastle deck. Winn popped back up and as Samir was soaring at him, he threw a bicycle kick and that propelled Samir overboard and into the ocean. Winn laughed as Samir flew back over the deck and launched the fastest attack ever seen on Arath with repeated punches and kicks aimed all over Winn’s body. Winn blocked them all, then flipped over Samir and punched him hard in the back of the head. Winn put him in a headlock and then started the execution of the forbidden move. Samir twisted and pulled but he couldn’t break Winn’s hold on him as Winn shot up in the air and started the twisted dive that is the crux of the forbidden move. Just as Winn and Samir approached the deck and Samir’s neck was going to be broken, Samir disappeared, and Winn hit the deck so hard it knocked him out. Samir appeared standing next to Winn and he leaned down and punched him in the face once.
“I am the victor,” said Samir. “The student can’t beat the master.”
“I don’t know Samir,” Ippili said. “He had you. if you couldn’t disappear you would be dead.”
“No, my head would have broken through the deck of the ship and probably the hull. It would have sunk the ship. He would have drowned, and I would have won anyway. You know as well as I do that a human can’t beat a god.”
“That one almost did. You trained him too well.”
“He will need all his skill for what is to come. Hurry, tie him up before he comes awake.”
Ippili waived a hand and fresh rope bound Winn up. “Gotcha covered.”
The rest of the party joined the gods and Winn.
“Obviously, I failed to heal him,” Allesca said. “At least I did remove the hatred he has for the princess.”
“Now he hates me the normal amount like he hates just about everyone else,” Sarah said. “What can we do now?”
“I am at a loss,” Allesca said. “The only being with more healing power than me is the Almighty.”
“No, there is another,” Samir said. “An Almighty touched can heal another Almighty touched.”
“No,” Allesca said. “That healing rattled me to the core and tested all my power. I can’t imagine what it would do to a human.”
“Can you think of another way? Winn has to be healed or the world is doomed.”
“No, I cannot. She is one of your people. If you are willing to expose her to Winn who am I to stop you?”
“What are you people talking about?” Svae said. “If a goddess can’t heal Winn then who can?”
“They are talking about the Oracle of Isa, who lives in the deep south of Xi En,” Ippili said. “She is the only other Almighty touched person alive. She is more of a seer than a healer, but as Samir said an Almighty touched can heal another Almighty touched. It will be a question of if she is willing to do so. The cost of her healing Winn will be great.”
“You must take Winn to her at once,” Samir said. “You will have to go to the capital city of Xi En, Kyto, and get permission from the Vizier to travel to Isa. I will make sure you get it.”
“Bevy, do we have enough provisions to get to Xi En?” Svae asked.
“More than enough. I’ve always wanted to go to Xi En. Now, if you all would get off my deck, we can set sail. There is a good wind out of the west. If it holds up, we can make it there in two weeks.”
Vant and Metto picked a still unconscious Winn off the deck and carried him below. The gods disappeared, and Bevy and her crew set sail for Xi En.
Chapter 16: Keyland’s Rise
August 20, 850 A.A.
The dukes were assembled in the meeting hall for what was now the monthly witan with the King. They were all talking amongst each other about the events in Skal and preparations in Aviel for war. The King’s retinue entered followed by the King. Everyone stood up until Landis sat. All fell quiet.
“Thank you all for coming. Once a month can be trying for you who live out in the far reaches but when and if the Menegar invade we will need to meet more frequently than that. As you may have heard by now, there was a small Menegar attack on Trellheim that was easily defeated a week or so ago. The main force of the Menegar is in the mountains looking for Aggenburg. The only cause I can see for this reasoning is if the Menegar were ordered to kill every Skal before they attacked here. As for our preparations, we have moved half of the north army to the northern border of Skal in case they decide cross the border there. This force, about 3,000 strong, isn’t meant to stop the Menegar, but rather to deter them and inform us of the Menegar’s presence.”
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