"You're all crazy. That stuff is disgusting!" I pronounced.
"I 'spose 'tis," Agimus admitted with a laugh. "Alright, hoist the main sail and let’s get movin' over here!" he shouted, his demeanor changing from pleasure to business almost instantly. Suddenly a whirlwind of movement swirled all around us. Before we knew it, the sails were full and the slithering scurry of Aquidians orchestrated into a kind of organized chaos. The ship was sailing. We were off, cruising west across the surface of Aqos.
CHAPTER 16
“So why are ye goin’ to the Lapis Mountains? Ain’t that place off-limits? Haunted or some such nonsense?” asked Agimus. We were on course, and the commotion of the crew settled down.
“On orders from the king. We are to go there and wait for the Divinae to return.” Patreus paused, not knowing if he should divulge more information to the Aquidian.
“Aye. The prophecy. I don’t much take to the prophecies of men, but I do know it, and I wish ye luck and good speed in gettin’ rid of Scievah.”
“Perhaps you and your men would like to help?” Patreus suggested.
“I couldn’t do that. Not with me shipping business to maintain, though I support ye all the way.”
“As an independent seaman, what makes you so supportive of us?” Patreus asked.
“Scievah is the reason for the dangerous seas off the coast of Mir’Dinaas. If’n it weren’t for him touchin’ them stones, none of that would have ever happened. When he took the stone there were many fissures and deep quakes in Aqos, deep at the sea bottom near our cities. The sea floor broke up so bad that we swimmers had to relocate closer to the shoreline. The Great Eye spins relentless out at sea, making the nearby waters rough travels. Sometimes it kicks up swells so bad they send waves the height of ten men crashin' ta shore,” he explained.
“I was unaware of the extent of damage,” said Patreus.
“Not too many are. The sea changes slower'n the land. But we mermen have also seen a changin’ in our people. Lots turnin’ bad. Killin’ each other and stealin’ and such. There are bootleggers and scallywags who overtake boats and steal the cargo, sometimes even the boat too. But we’ve been lucky to fight them off some. This ol’ ship’s got a reputation for scrappin’, right men?” he shouted off to his crew. They grunted in agreement, raising their webbed fists in the air.
“Scievah has corrupted even the Aquidians?” Patreus asked.
“Aye. Tis why we’ll sail out a ways from the coast when we pass Mir’Dinaas.”
Suddenly the shipmate up in the crow’s nest yelled out to Agimus down below in an unfamiliar language. Agimus responded in that language but I understood him, just like what happened when we met Bantas and the Lapisians. There was commotion on the deck, and Agimus gave his orders. Peitus and Patreus did not understand their words, but they knew from looking at me, when my mouth dropped, what was happening. Looters were on their way. We were about to be attacked unless we could outmaneuver them on the seas.
Three smaller ships closed in on us. Seeing them draw closer and closer was frightening; watching our attackers approach us as we sat helpless in the water. Agimus warned us not to try anything. We were severely outnumbered. Even though Patreus was confident in our ability to fight, he agreed with Agimus, reasoning that there need not be any more attention drawn to me.
"They're only after the cargo; precious ore from the deep. They know our shipments," Agimus explained. "To be honest I'm surprised they haven't coordinated like this before, given how we've managed to fight them off in the past. It looks ta be the likes of ol' Reigo the Red. Hide yer valuables,'" he cautioned. "If we cooperate, they'll likely just rob us and be off."
I threw a loose fitting robe over my shoulders, concealing my pack and sword. There was a strange silence among us. The sting of inevitability bit at our nerves. We were all on edge; tense, scared.
Before we knew it their grappling hooks were thrown onto our deck, and they began to pull us closer to the shore. In the distance I could see the crude spires of Mir’Dinaas rising up from the horizon like the stingers of two scorpions facing each other, forming a menacing archway in the distance. I could hear the grunts and drunken ramblings of the pirates all around us, readying themselves to board our ship and have their way with us.
We were near the shore. Any closer and we would have run aground. It was then that they finally boarded. It almost came as a relief; all the waiting and the worrying weighed heavy on my morale. There was no use in fighting. Getting their victims to think in such a way was probably part of their tactics. They shimmied their way across the ropes, weapons strapped across their backs; even small knifes clenched between their teeth. There were Aquidians, Uhaareti, and Ahaareti. They smelled of booze and sweat, so bad was the odor that it almost made me sick.
"Up against the wall, all of you!" said a moleman who seemed to be their leader. His smoky Uhaareti skin was whitened by the salt of the sea and burned red from constant exposure to the sun. I assumed he was the one Agimus called Reigo the Red. "Hands in the air where I can see them," he instructed. "I said hands in the air!" He impatiently struck one of Agimus' men in the head with the handle of a scabbard. He fell to his knees, blood streamed across his face. "Just give us your cargo and no one else gets hurt."
"Just take what you want and don't hurt us," pleaded Agimus.
"I'll do whatever I please, captain." He curled an evil grin. Agimus averted his eyes. I could see the rage inside of them both. The pirate, ready to unleash it at the drop of a hat, and Agimus, holding it back with every ounce of strength in him. He was a proud Aquidian; a hard working, good man who had held his own against these thieves before. And now, here he was, pleading for their mercy. I was relieved at Agimus' compliance. I think we all were, but Reigo's keen eye seemed to notice this. Perhaps he was puzzled by the fact that we didn't try to fight back. He knew.
"Something more important than the cargo today, is there?" He glared at Agimus as his men began to unload the cargo crate by crate.
"Just a few travelers who paid charter to sail south with us." Agimus covered for us. "Don't want to scuffle with innocent passengers aboard."
"Don't you know these waters are dangerous?" Reigo approached Patreus.
"We do now," Patreus responded calmly, staring ahead and avoiding eye contact with the robber.
"Perhaps Agimus will be so good as to return your fare, because you'll all be disembarking here. We are taking your ship, Agimus." The Uhaareti chuckled and turned from Patreus back to Agimus. "You've caused too much trouble for me lately. I should kill you, but, I must say, I have learned to respect you."
"Oh? I didn't think respect was a part of your emotional dialogue." Agimus' anger began to boil over with the spiteful retort.
"Yes well, you and your crew are a tough bunch. I could use men like you. Why waste such good talent? So my offer to you is either you surrender your ship, or you keep your ship, but, instead, you work for me."
"Never." Agimus proudly held his chin high, like his tail fin.
"And what about your men? Don't they have minds of their own? What say you all?” Reigo asked.
Agimus' crew looked to him for guidance. He gave none, but no guidance was necessary. They all declined Reigo's offer.
"Very well then. Get off my ship." The red moleman peered at Agimus with a wicked smile.
Agimus' face swelled with anger, and he suddenly began to charge at Reigo. In an instant the pirates' swords were drawn, ready to strike him down. Patreus leapt forward, grabbing Agimus in a bear-hug to hold him back. "Don't do anything foolish," he whispered in Agimus' ear. Reigo heard him.
"Too late for that, traveler. I showed mercy on him and his crew, and this is how he shows his appreciation? Now he will pay the price with his head." He motioned for his men to take Agimus from Patreus. They dragged him over to the Uhaareti and pinned him to the deck, face down. "No. Turn him over. I want to see his eyes." The men turned him over and the moleman raised his scabbard over his head, re
ady to strike down upon Agimus' neck.
"Please, I beg you, have mercy once again!" Patreus pleaded. The Uhaareti stopped, sheathing his blade. "Just let us be on our way. All of us."
"I have a deal for you. I shall flip a coin. If it lands on your side, he can go with you. If it lands on my side, I will do with him as I will," Reigo offered.
Patreus paused. He toiled with the idea of fighting these men. His hand crept back under his robe toward his sword. I saw him sizing everyone up, counting their numbers and weighing the unlikelihood that a pirate would keep his word.
I emptied my mind and readied myself mentally for battle, just in case. We were outnumbered three to one. If our skill was greater than theirs, we could have a chance. But in all likelihood these thieves were battle-tested survivors. Fighters. Hungry and malnourished, but fighters nonetheless. It would be wise to avoid a fight.
"Very well." Patreus said. "We shall wager for the soul of Agimus, though I am not convinced you will keep our word in the event that I win."
"Well, that's your problem now, isn't it?" said Reigo.
"I suppose it is," Patreus responded, not receiving any comfort from Reigo to assure his fair play.
"A king's coin," said Reigo as he produced a rare and ancient coin, likely worth more than all three ships combined, plus the cargo. Such an antiquity was almost myth, as Scievah was known to have destroyed all such items when he gained power. "King side you win."
Patreus nodded in agreement. Reigo tossed the coin high in the air. All eyes were on it, except mine that is. My eyes were on the pirate's hand. He was sneakily drawing his scabbard. When his eyes met mine I knew he was going to strike.
In an instant my robe was off and my sword rang from its sheath. Fueled by my strength it ignited in flame. Reigo was so stunned by what he saw that he did not finish drawing his blade before mine was buried to the hilt in his belly.
There was silence, then the clang of the coin as it hit the deck, and battle ensued. Agimus and his men retrieved weapons from hidden stores all around the ship. They had done this before and were ready for it; they fought for their ship. The pirates were off guard. Their leader had fallen most suddenly. He gurgled to his death in moments from the large cauterized hole I left in him.
Patreus and Peitus loosed their blades and fought off the other pirates by my side. My blade roared and burned with ease through pirate after pirate, but Patreus, Peitus and I worked as one. We moved as three parts of the same being while fighting. It was all reaction.
The skirmish ended almost as quickly as it began. It certainly was not what we anticipated; by the time the pirates realized they were being attacked, a third of them were already wounded or felled, and soon we outnumbered them. We out skilled them as well, as it were. Patreus would surely attribute that to the prophecy.
"By the king, Valdren! What came over you?" exclaimed Peitus.
"The pirate was pulling his scabbard to strike Agimus. I just reacted and my instinct took over," I said.
"I bet the coin was a fake too," added Patreus.
Agimus' men gathered themselves, some slightly wounded, but, miraculously, nothing fatal. Our breathing was heavy, our actions finally catching up with us.
"Here it is," mumbled Agimus. "The coin! It's not a fake!" he said as he furiously flipped it between his webbed fingers, occasionally chomping at it between his teeth. Patreus was shocked. His eyes lit up upon seeing the artifact.
“Just curious; what side did it land on?” Peitus chuckled.
“The side that would’ve claimed me head!” He bellowed. “Tis a true king's coin, a unique piece of our history. We must preserve it."
"But how?" asked Peitus. "We are in the midst of a journey, and most likely off to battle."
"I can leave it with my men. They'll make sure it goes to a proper place of safekeeping in one of our cities," offered Agimus. "We have places that display artifacts from our history."
"What do you mean? Won't you take it yourself?" asked Peitus.
"No. I've a debt ta repay," he said as he looked to me. Before I could dissuade him he continued. "I insist. It's part of the code we men carry out here on the seas. If ye save a man from death, then he owes ye a debt of servitude, so I'll be joinin' ye on yer quest to put an end to Scievah."
"Are you sure?" Patreus asked.
"Of course I'm sure," he said as he lit a pipe filled with sea leaf. Then he turned and made a series of large hand and arm gestures to his men. I somehow understood it to mean that Agimus relieved himself of his duties and promoted someone to captain.
"I'm giving my ship to Hargin." He turned toward the Aquidian. "Hargin, you can appoint captains to the pirate ships and hoist a friendly color guard on each mast." They nodded in agreement. "These are my last orders then." There was silence and stillness. Everyone was taken aback by Agimus' duty and service to the cause. "Well, what're we waitin' fer? Let's get off this wreck and onto dry land!" he yelled with vigor. "Ahh, but first I need me special bottle of rum from the cabin, and a few other things." He slithered off. In the distance we could hear him rummaging through some of his personal effects until a distant "A-ha! There ye are ya scoundrel!" emerged from the cabin.
When he came back with the bottle of brown liquor, his trident, and a small leather sack, the other shipmates helped us down into the water, and we began to swim our way to shore. Before we had gone too far, Agimus turned and signaled to his men with more hand and arm gestures. He seemed to wish the men luck.
"What is it you are doing with your arms?" Peitus asked.
"Tis a language of gestures. Since we Aquidians live in the sea, we use signals like that to communicate. Our voices don't travel far underwater. When the water's too murky ta see, we use rocks to send messages. Banging rocks together makes 'em vibrate through the water like."
"Wow!" Peitus became interested. "Will you teach me?"
"Sure thing lad."
Like their spoken language and the Lapisian language, I seemed to already understand the gestures.
#
We reached the beach and Patreus lead us south along the shore, away from Mir’Dinaas, which now loomed over us like ominous clouds on a stormy day. It was close, and that meant danger was close. The last thing we needed was more trouble.
The weight of what I did back on the ship began to sink in. I killed a man, ended his life by striking first. Though it was justified and even necessary to preserve our own lives, I felt like part of me was extinguished along with the life of the pirate; my innocence. Patreus sensed the anguish on my face and in my slumped stride. He walked up beside me and put his arm around my shoulder. He looked me in the eyes and nodded with a somber expression. He pressed his fist against his forehead, motioning for me to do the same. We stood in the salty breeze, our clothing wet and sandy, alone in our contemplation.
“You did what was needed,” he spoke. But did I? I wondered if killing was necessary. Efficient, yes. But necessary?
“You did what was right and just,” he added. “Mourn, but do not regret.”
As the sun sank lower in the sky it glowed a deep amber and then a fiery red before it dipped down under the horizon out at sea. A beautiful sight perched upon such a treacherous place. Then we made our way east, inland. I was glad the sea was finally behind us.
"Is all of Aqos so dangerous?" I asked Agimus.
"No, heavens no. Out in the deep, away from the shorelines, it is a most peaceful and serene place. It is wild and vast, but not dangerous if you know where to be."
"What do you mean?" I pressed.
"Well, for example, it's never wise ta travel where flat nose sharks do their feedin', or along the giant clam beds. We learn these things as young swimmers to avoid danger. I'm fearin' more for my life when I slither on dry land, I can tell ya that much." He chuckled. "I 'spose it is just a matter of gettin' used to."
"Neither should be dangerous," Peitus added. "Clam beds and shark feeds are one thing, just like Tashik jungle is dangerous here. Bu
t the pirates near the shore, and the forces of Scievah here. Such dangers shouldn't exist. They aren't meant to."
"Aye, but they do," Agimus responded.
"The best we can do is fight back." Patreus said.
It grew dark and we set up camp early for the night to gain our strength. In the distance, to the north, we could see the high cauldron of Mir’Dinaas burning with its massive flames in the night. As it became visible in the dark, Patreus explained to us that they lit it at night to honor Scievah and often executed Scievah's worst enemies by throwing them into the cauldron alive. I looked out at the flame, mesmerized by it, and wondered if such a fate would befall my parents. I wondered if someone was being tortured or killed there right now. I wondered if Scievah was there, pouring the molten liquid onto the innocent Haareti below. I wondered how cruel a man like Pere, my grandfather who controls the citadel, would have to be to want to imprison and execute his own son. I wondered if my parents were there, moved from the jail at Sanji, to be executed. I fixed my thoughts on them in silence.
We sat around a humble fire of our own, trying to keep warm and dry. Agimus thanked the king for looking after us today. He honored us as well for saving his life, calling us his friends. Then he opened his sack and tossed some sea fare into the fire, generously offering the fish to us as he snacked on raw barnacles and seaweed; a meager meal for an Aquidian who was probably used to delicious seafood any time he pleased. This was truly a sacrifice by Agimus. He shivered as the flames licked the sides of the fish. Mermen rarely wore clothing, save for some scallop shells or weaves of seaweed that were worn over the breasts of mermaids. Their scales covered the rest, as their lower halves were more fish than man.
"Are you cold?" I asked, handing him some robes.
"Aye. I get the shivvies on land from time ta time. Out at sea on the boat too. Livin' in the water, I was used to the sea fillin' up all around me, sleepin' down by a warm steam vent. Tis like being embraced by loving arms; like a baby in a mother's womb. Bein' out here the winds reminds me of just how open ya are to things."
The Return of the Fifth Stone Page 23