“What’s up with all this salt?” Paco grumbled. He turned the pockets of his pants inside out, and, sure enough, released a steady stream of sea salt onto the ground. When no one offered an answer, he scooped it up so that he could use it for the next stew. Well, whatever was left after Turtle took a long, salty lick.
Once Belkross returned from scouting to have breakfast, Aycenia emerged from her tree once more and addressed the group. “Your accomplishments will become stories of legend here on the island. Its denizens will sing your song, from the mightiest bird to the smallest insect. So, noting that reverence, I ask,” she hesitated before continuing, “if you still wish to leave? You could all control the northern half. I’m sure that the Tribe will continue to try and compete with you, but this will likely only amount to little skirmishes here and there.”
“Why would we want to compete with the Tribe?” Paco scoffed. “Why should they control anything?”
Aycenia tilted her head. “You want to conquer their half as well?”
The gunslinger shrugged. “Sounded like we were going there next anyway.”
“We definitely appreciate the offer of safety, Aycenia,” Lilian said gently. “And we will definitely make use of it while we can. However so long as the cannibals remain a potential threat, we can’t risk it. And we do need to search the rest of Smuggler’s Shiv to see if there’s a way to leave.” She then added, maybe to give the dryad hope, “For those who choose to leave at least. Not everyone has to. But it’d be best to have the option.”
“Though, for those who do stay, it’s only a matter of time before a typhoon rolls around and sinks this island beneath the ocean,” Salim supplied helpfully.
Lilian didn’t quite manage to stifle a groan of frustration or annoyance. Or, more likely, both.
Aycenia simply gave small, sad smile. “If it is nature’s will, so be it.” She then asked, “How do you wish to confront the Tribe? If you wish, I could create a noticeable trail through the jungle, leading you straight to them. Or were you instead wanting to be more…creative in your approach?”
It was Belkross’ turn to speak up. “The question becomes,” he grunted, “subjugate or eradicate?” He then looked around at everyone else in the group sans Aycenia. Oh. He wanted to put it up to a vote.
“Well, they already know where we are,” Nakoda pointed out. “It makes sense that they’d set up posts around their camp. So it wouldn’t really make sense for us to try and sneak up on them.”
“I don’t know, Nakoda,” Lilian replied skeptically. “That assumes that their ability to prepare for our coming is superior to our ability to sneak up on them.”
“We could always poison their food and water,” Salim said, straight-faced.
“That would be the most efficient way,” Paco agreed. “But it could take forever for the effects to kick in.”
“And it also assumes that we can consistently get to their food and water supplies undetected,” Lilian said. She showed her hands. “Not saying it’s a bad idea. Just that we need to be practical.” She turned to Aycenia. “Can you tell us more about their current leader? Temperament? Motivation?”
The dryad touched her chin thoughtfully. “Hmmm. He is a fierce warrior. But seems to be going a bit off-”
“He is a cannibal,” Alton interjected, speaking for the first time since his “private” conversation with Salim. I don’t think either of them knew I’d overheard. Or if they did know, they didn’t care.
Lilian snapped her fingers. “Wait. You mentioned a witch before?”
“Oh. Yes. She’s been with them…forgive me if I’m a bit off, human years are so hard to keep track of…Forty of your years? Maybe more? They consult her on near everything, or so I’ve seen.” Aycenia frowned deeply. “They mind her, I think, more out of fear than reverence. But that fear is being overridden by hunger. The Tribe has been struggling to find new meat lately.”
“So that’s why they attacked us,” Paco said. “We’re not new enemies. We’re a new source of food.”
“Perhaps,” Aycenia conceded, though she looked doubtful. Or perhaps it was pity towards the cannibals’ plight. “They have been forced to bury many babes lost to deformity. Only to then dig them back up to consume…”
Lilian was unfazed by the dead-baby-talk. “How do you think that they’d react if we took out their witch?” she asked, all business.
“It’s sure to be a high blow to their social structure. They do still rely on her potions and elixirs to cope with their degeneration.” Aycenia paused before continuing, “I’m not so sure it’s a part of their bodies breaking down, or if it’s a side effect of her magic, but the Tribe is growing paler with each generation. I wondered, for a time, if the Gray God had a cousin. A white variant. I don’t know…But yes. There is a chance that without her to aid the king, Thrunefang will collapse internally. Eventually.”
“Sounds like the king’s shit at his job,” Paco mused. “Would they seek revenge against those who killed her, or maybe see the killers as a more viable replacement.” He gestured to Belkross. “I mean, look at who Belkross is wearing! If that isn’t proof that we can get shit done, I don’t know what is.”
Aycenia sighed. “I do not know. It would be foolish of me to speak rationally on behalf of those who may not even be capable of being rational.” She turned to Lilian. “But I can say that, aside from the witch, none show any magical proficiency. Especially not at your level. Defeating her will surely give you an advantage in this civil war.”
After a moment to consider, Lilian asked Salim, “Do you have any spells that could cause chaos among their ranks? I know of magic that can cause confusion or dominate a person to your will, but they are beyond my ability at the moment.”
“Hmmm I could create an obscuring mist,” he offered. “Get someone in and out. Unseen. Outside of that, healing and blessing things are more my thing-”
“Wait.” Lilian spun around to look at her tent and then just as quickly shot Belkross a questioning look. He nodded and went to retrieve the half-full barrel of gunpowder from inside the tent. He set it down in front of Lilian. She placed a hand upon its lid and then said to Aycenia, her eyes still on the barrel, “Aycenia, describe the layout of Thrunefang’s encampment to the best of your ability, please.”
The dryad touched her chin thoughtfully. “They built it around the lighthouse built decades before even their arrival. It was built atop…” She frowned. “I don’t remember. I was little more than a sapling then, I think. But it is odd…Regardless, their camp expands around the lighthouse.”
“Yep,” Nakoda said. “I spotted it when I climbed up to the top of your tree.” It was his turn to frown. “Lilian, you look like you have an idea.”
“I do,” she admitted.
“Your plans usually set people on fire or make stuff blow up.”
“They do. But not this one.”
Nakoda visibly relaxed. “Oh. Okay-”
“Because Belkross is going to set everything on fire while blowing up the lighthouse.” Before anyone could argue, Lilian explained, “We use the mist to get him in with this,” she patted the barrel, “leftover gunpowder. It shouldn’t be too difficult to repurpose it into an explosive. He plants and sets it off at the base of the lighthouse. If we’re really lucky it’ll topple over, causing chaos while the rest of us sneak in and assassinate both Thrunefang’s king and that witch.”
“But Mister Belkross,” Nakoda began.
“Can get in and out,” grumbled the mercenary. “I’m a professional.”
“Yeah, but-!”
“So long as the mist rolls with us, towards the village, Belkross’ chances of slipping in undetected are high,” Salim spoke over him.
“Breeze is picking up,” Paco noted, glancing out from under his hat at the sky. “Anybody got any better ideas? No. Alright then. Give me that damn barrel. We only got one shot. Gotta make it count.”
#
It took us a few days to get ready. With the help of Turtle’s tail, the cannibals’ weapons were broken up and remains dumped into the barrel as makeshift shrapnel. Aycenia helped create a harness of vines for Belkross. It would help him carry the barrel into Thrunefang’s camp while keeping both his arms free to attack in the case of an emergency. Salim produced his obscuring mist around the group so that everyone could grow accustomed to traversing through it. It always smelled salty and made my stomach queasy. A sentiment that the notoriously sea-sick Nakoda shared. I, too, practiced my magic. I was finally managing to make my horn glow continuously for a few minutes at a time. I had yet to teleport again.
Nakoda mostly kept to himself. I knew he didn’t like plan. I’m not sure if it was for Belkross’ sake, or because he actually believed that the cannibals could be reasoned with, but it didn’t matter. My brother had been outvoted. It was survival of the fittest now. Funny how, lately, survival seemed to come down to who had the better explosive…
Midway through the third day of preparations, Lilian approached Turtle and me. She warned us that she was going to use magic to summon some not-so-nice-looking dogs to help the group in case a fight broke out. The dogs might look scary, but they were on our side. Well, her side, but it amounts to the same thing in the end.
“Hear that, Turtle?” I asked, nudging him with my front hoof. “We’re gonna get new friends.”
Instead of answering, he just started wagging his flail-like tail in approval. The sight of it brought a painful idea to mind. But it was worth a shot. I needed to stress-test my magic, see if I could sustain it while actively in pain. So with that in mind, I planted my feet, grit my teeth, and told Turtle, “Turtle, I want you to hit me.”
He tilted his head, confused, but then shrugged.
Thwack!
His tail snapped sideways like a striking snake, hitting my left flank. I weighed a few hundred pounds more than he did, but the blow still knocked me a few feet to the side. A pained hee-haw burst from my mouth. I was only vaguely aware of everyone in the camp jumping to their feet to see the commotion, and Lilian exclaiming in alarm. Somehow I managed to stay up, red spots dancing across my eyes and my left butt-cheek on fire.
“Well,” Turtle called over, “did it work?”
No. Of course it hadn’t. Because he’d hit me before I could try and use any magic. That wasn’t his fault though. So, shaking my head, I pushed through the pain, and willed magic into my horn. A comforting warmth spread throughout my head. It diluted the pain a little, clearing up my vision. Quickly, before I could lose my nerve, I practically snarled, “No! Hit me again!”
“You sure?” Turtle asked hesitantly.
“Yes!” I shouted, my heart racing with adrenaline. “Yes! That hurt a lot! But this time REALLY hit me, Turtle! Go for it!”
Like a tan-shelled grim reaper, my lizard friend lumbered over, raising his tail in preparation. Aligning it with my face.
“Actually,” I began.
THWACK!
His tail slammed up into my chin.
Next thing I knew I was flat on my back, spaces where a few of my teeth used to be. “…I…I can taste my brain,” I wheezed.
“Don!” Nakoda shouted, rushing over to my side. He knelt to my left, and Lilian joined him on my right. “What’s going on?” my brother asked, quickly placing a piece of cloth against my bleeding chin. “Why are you and Turtle fighting?”
“I don’t think they were really fighting,” Lilian told him. “It’s more likely that Donkiote is practicing sustaining magic while injured. But Turtle packed more punch than he was prepared for.”
Nakoda sighed. “Don, you’re putting way to much stress on yourself over this magic,” he scolded me. “I loved you before you were magic, you just gotta…just let it be. Plus it won’t help anybody if you get hurt before the mission-”
“Unicorns know healing spells,” Lilian interrupted him. “Try it, Don. Focus on your wounds.”
I tried despite my brain feeling more like jelly with each passing second. I closed my eyes. I didn’t call out to the magic, but just focused on breathing. On trying to make that jelly solid. Gradually, the waves of pain stopped, becoming a simple but manageable pressure against my jaw and flank. And then, finally, even that died down to just a dull ache. I opened my eyes and met Lilian’s approving eyes.
“Good,” she said.
“Cool!” Nakoda said, taking back the blood-stained rag. He asked Lilian, “And he can heal other people, too?”
“Theoretically.”
“Does he have to be touching them?”
“More than likely.”
They got to their feet and, still a little wobbly, I did the same. “What about me?” Nakoda asked. “When I ride him, I’m magic, too.”
Lilian touched her chin. “Hmmm, I’m assuming you’re acting as a conduit for his magic. As long as you’re within a reasonable distance, his magic should still be accessible to you. We could run some tests-”
“Tests?” Nakoda repeated, drawing his lance. He looked around, spotted Belkross. “Belkross!” he declared, pointing his weapon at the mercenary. “Coming over here! Er, please!”
Belkross looked at him and then at Lilian. She gave him a what-can-you-do?-kind of shrug. With a grunt of mild irritation, Belkross walked over and drew his sword. Together the pair began to circle each other. Their size difference almost made it funny. By this point Alton and Salim were standing a little bit behind me and Turtle, while Aycenia and Paco looked on farther up the hill. No one spoke. The only sound came from the two dualists’ soft footsteps across the grass-
Belkross kicked forward. Nakoda instinctively brought his lance up to intercept the mercenary’s sword. Expecting that, Belkross aimed lower, for the Rider’s feet. Nakoda yelped and hopped, managing to clear the blade. He landed but by then Belkross was already going in for another strike.
Pale fire suddenly blossomed across Nakoda’s lance and began to trickle upwards from his pupils. The sudden explosion of magical light made Belkross flinch and hiss, almost like a giant cat. That slowed down the swing of his strike enough for Nakoda to get in and knock the sword out of his hand. The sword tumbled through the air before impaling itself into the ground.
Silence fell across the clearing.
Nakoda ruined it by jumping up and exclaiming, “That was awesome!”
His lance returned to normal. He then turned to Belkross and gained a guilty expression. The mercenary was holding his bleeding hand. In the process of disarming him, Nakoda had wounded it.
“Oh, Mr. Belkross, I’m so sorry!”
While Nakoda apologized profusely, another conversation caught my attention.
“You know what you need to do,” Salim was telling Alton, his voice low and measured. “All those negative feelings you have towards your former captain? Harness them. Use them.”
“Already on it,” Alton replied dryly, paying half attention to the strange man. He was eyeing Nakoda, looking proud. “Nice moves, kid-”
“Focus,” Salim snapped.
“I am, I am!” Alton closed his eyes and frowned deeply. I blinked repeatedly as I watched the air around him darken. No, not darken. It was as if he were constructing a barrier between him and the sunlight. Repelling it.
“That’s it,” Salim said approvingly.
Alton sniffed. “Too salty,” he grunted. He exhaled and the barrier popped exactly like a bubble. Not that anyone else in the group seemed to notice. “Even for me.”
“You’ll grow to love it,” Salim chuckled.
Looking regretful at having formed this new partnership, Alton jerked a thumb over at Nakoda. “Little man made his power flow around his weapon,” he noted. “Can I do that? Seems easier.”
Instead of answering right away, Salim followed Alton’s gaze over to Nakoda. The corners of his lips twitched. “I have an idea.” He pointed a finger at Nakoda and shouted, “You! Come here.”
Nakoda whipped around. “Me?”
“Yes.”
“You’re talking to me?”
“Yes.”
“Willingly?”
“Yes. Now come here. I need your help.”
Nakoda quickly thanked Belkross for the dual (and apologized once more for his hand) and hurried over. I watched on, eyeing Salim suspiciously. My brother didn’t share my reservations. He declared excitedly, “A Rider is always willing to h-”
“Yes, yes. Just wait right there.” He turned to a bemused Alton. “That feeling? Focus on it again.” He turned back to Nakoda. “Don’t worry, I’ll heal you.” He turned back to Alton. “Wrap that power around your sword and use it against Nakoda.”
“Wait,” Nakoda said hurriedly, looking between them. “So we’re gonna duel, too?”
“No, you just stand there,” Salim answered, not even bothering to look at him. “I won’t bless you this time, Alton. You need to learn how to do it on your own. Bless yourself. Believe in yourself.” He paused pointedly before finishing with, “Believe in your dream.”
“Dream,” Alton repeated. He raked a hand through his hair anxiously before asking Nakoda, “You really okay with this, little man?”
My brother didn’t even hesitate. “If it’ll help you with…whatever it is you’re trying to do than yeah, I’ll do it,” he said. “I trust you, Alton.”
Alton turned away, but not quite fast enough for me to miss the guilty expression on his face. Still not looking at Nakoda, he drew his rapier and closed his eyes. He gripped the sword with both hands. He inhaled and exhaled repeatedly before repeatedly murmuring almost like a prayer, “Breathe me in…Breathe me in…Breathe me in…”
The air around his sword thickened. It was similar to whenever Salim had blessed the blade before, except for the coloring. Instead of sickly green, the aura was a deep crimson, almost brown. Like blood flowing through water-
“Gah!”
Nakoda’s pained shout rang through the air.
It happened so fast. In the blink of an eye, Alton struck, plunging the sword hilt deep into Nakoda’s stomach. My stomach lurched. I rushed forward as Nakoda dropped his lance and collapsed to his knees. I flailed at Alton with my front hooves. The surprised first mate lurched away, yanking his sword out of Nakoda as he went.
“Nakoda,” he cried out. “I’m so sorry!”
“Why should you be?” Casually, Salim walked over and ruffled Nakoda’s hair. Magic poured from his fingertips and into the little Rider, healing him. I stomped over and knocked hand away. He took a surprised step back. I shot him one last glower before pressing my snout to Nakoda’s head, willing my magic into him. If anyone was gonna heal him, it was going to be me. It took a few minutes for the shock to wear off, but my brother finally looked up, blood drying across his mouth and neck.
“Thanks, D-Don? You’re…you’re the best…”
Salim slapped his hands together. “Good. Alright let’s go again.”
“Again,” Nakoda repeated weakly. “Uh…isn’t it Paco’s turn?”
The gunslinger in question had wandered closer towards the action. “Why would I stab you?” he asked. He held up his pistol. “If I was gonna do anything, I’d use this.”
“Heh, yeah you probably would,” Nakoda chuckled painfully. He leaned his face up against my nose. “I…I didn’t know that having friends would be this painful. Huh, Don?”
With one of my ears still ringing from the blow to the chin, I could only snort once in agreement.