The Black Sword Trilogy: The Four Nations (32 page)

             
“Because, you spent most of yesterday puking your guts out.”

             
“That makes sense.  And out of pure curiosity, where are my clothes?”

             
“I tossed them overboard.

             
“Why?”

             
“Trust me, you don’t want those back.”

She chuckled a little and then,
still feeling a little weak, sat down on the deck.  Shela then lay next to her, curling into a large ball of fur.

             
“Am I supposed to wear this blanket all the way to Merz?” She said stoking Shela gently.

             
“I’ve been going through some of the boxes that I found stashed behind the supplies that were loaded at Lahkhert.

             
“And?”

             
“There’s some clothes there, but I don’t think you want to wear them in front of any men we might meet.”

             
“I see you found the sexy underwear, then.”

             
“Yup.”

             
“Did you pack any for your red head?”

             
“Absolutely,” He said and they both laughed.

             
In addition to her physical ailments, Terri felt smaller and somehow fragile.  She felt as if a part of herself that she wanted hidden had revealed itself to someone she didn’t want knowing that she had any weaknesses.

             
There were very few men in her life that she’d respected as she did Kenner and even fewer she’d allowed herself to trust.  Not even her father had managed to earn as much respect as Kenner had and no one had ever been as honorable.  He’d seen her at her weakest and not taken advantage of her in any way.  In a different world, she might have loved him.

             
“Must have been a long night for you last night.” She joked.

             
“Long two days, actually.”

             
“Two days?”

             
“Yup.

             
“Great Lady!  No wonder I feel so weak.”

             
“Yes, well if I ever had any doubts about Shela as a mother, they’re gone now.”

             
“Took good care of me, did she?”

             
“If she could have nursed you, she would have.”

Terri laughed again, but then felt afrai
d.  In addition to her vulnerability, what other side of her had he seen?

             
“Did I talk any?” She asked.

             
“A little,” He answered simply.  “None of it made any sense, though.”

She felt a little relieved, but still slightly afraid.  Did he know that she’d li
ed to him about their journey?  If so, what would he think?  What would he do?

             
Later, they did find some clothes that fit her; including a pair of men’s boots that fit better than the ones lent to her by the Golden Serpent’s crew.

             
“This must have been a cargo vessel.” Terri observed.

             
“Going to Masallah or coming from?” Kenner asked.

             
“Probably going to,” She answered.  She then picked up a very small and very revealing piece of women’s underwear.  “I can’t think of any Masallan with this kind of imagination.”

             
As the day wore on and became hotter, Kenner and Terri found themselves feeling heavy and slightly sleepy in the oppressive heat.  By (what they assumed) noon, it was so hot and steamy neither felt as if they could move.  The strange forest was alive with noise again and animals seemed to be getting bolder in their efforts to look at them.

             
“Do you think they’re getting used to us?” Terri asked as she saw more ‘tree children’ staring at her.

             
“Must be,” Kenner answered.  “Those mean looking lizards are coming closer to the boat too.”

             
“Do they look hungry?”

             
“As a matter of fact, they do.”

             
“Well, if they get too close, I’ll have to toss you overboard.”

             
“Why me?”

             
“Because you’ve got more meat on your bones than I do.”

             
“I don’t know.  You look like a mighty tasty meal to me.”

She answered that by extending her middle finger.

              Later in the day, Terri, still sitting on the deck noticed something strange.

             
“Do you hear that?” She asked Kenner.

             
“Hear what?  I don’t hear anything.”

             
“Exactly.”

Kenner su
ddenly understood her meaning and felt slightly alarmed.  The forest had been alive with sound for four whole days and now it was silent.  He stood up and then felt his armor jump on to him.  Terri saw this, scrambled to her feet and grabbed the Bow and a quiver of arrows.

             
For a few moments, the boat went silently along the river with only the breeze blowing the sails making any noise at all.  Shela came up between Kenner and Terri and sniffed at the air.  She then began to growl and her fur bristled.

             
The boat rounded a bend in the river and they saw the narrow path in front of them blocked by two boats stretched from bank to bank.  Several familiar looking creatures stood on the decks of the boats staring at them.

             
“Morgrils,” Kenner said.

Chapter
Thirty Seven

             
Terri prepared to shoot a fire bolt at the boats blocking the river, but Kenner put his hand up to stop her.

             
“Why are you stopping me?” She asked him.  “I could blast them apart with one shot.”

             
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed,” He replied, “But they’re not armed.”

Terri looked across at the Morgrils.  Indeed they weren’t armed.  None of them even had so much as a knife.

              “I wonder what they want.” She told Kenner.

             
“I’m not sure.  Right now, it looks like they just want to stare at us.”

             
There were ten Morgrils standing on the boats.  They were all about the same sizes and all covered in the same thick fur that Kenner and Terri remembered seeing Saab covered in, except they were different colors; including brown, orange, yellow and a kind of tan color.  The skin on their faces all matched their fur. 

             
After a few silent moments, Kenner finally called out to them.

             
“Good afternoon!” He said.

The Morgrils all looked at each other, two of them shrugged and the one stepped forward.

              “Hello there.” He said.

It was quiet for a moment more.

              “Nice day today, isn’t it?” Kenner said, hoping to get some kind of conversation going.

             
“Yes, it is…quite nice.” The Morgril answered.

This was followed by more silence.

              “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Kenner called out to them.

             
“Didn’t you just ask one?” The Morgril responded.

             
“Great…comedians,” Terri muttered.

             
“Is there any particular reason you’re blocking the river?” Kenner asked.

             
“May I ask you a question, sir?” The Morgril asked in a very polite tone.

             
“Sounds like you just did.” Kenner answered.

The Morgrils chuckled.

              “Are you Kenner from the hills?” The Morgril asked him.

Kenner looked over at Terri.

              “At least he didn’t say Walechia.” She said to him.

             
“And what if I said yes?” Kenner asked.

             
Well sir,” The Morgril answered, “Unless your answer was a lie, I would probably ask you another question.”

             
“And what would that question be?”

             
“I would probably then ask if Kenner and his lovely friend would like to follow us to our temple to meet our father.”

             
“That just earned him a point.” Terri said.

             
“Why does your father want to meet Kenner?”

             
“My father would very much like to speak with him.”

             
“And what about?”

             
“I’m sorry sir, but I don’t know.  Our father wouldn’t tell us as it seems to be none of our business.”

             
“Well, if you don’t know what your father wants to talk to Kenner about, why would Kenner go to visit him?”

             
“That’s a very good question sir.  I hadn’t quite thought about that.”

             
“Why don’t you go back to your father and tell him that Kenner doesn’t like having conversations that he doesn’t know the topic of discussion first.”

             
“Most people don’t; especially when they’ve never met the person that wants to talk to them.”

             
“That’s very true.  I think it would be a good idea that you find out the topic he wants to discuss with Kenner and then come back.”

             
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea, sir.”

             
“And why not?”

             
“Because it will be dark before I get back; and the crocodiles have a tendency to climb into boats that aren’t moving.”

             
“Don’t you think we could probably take care of that?”

             
“You could sir, but we couldn’t.  As you’ve already noticed, we are unarmed.”

             
“I could defend you.”

             
“Perhaps.  However, how would you know to defend us unless one of us is first attacked, killed and then eaten?  None of my brothers or I are particularly keen on that possibility.”

             
Kenner and Terri exchanged tired glances.  This conversation was going nowhere, they both thought.  However, the Morgrils didn’t seem to pose any threat to them. Kenner’s armor had climbed off of him and even Shela didn’t seem concerned with the visitors.

             
“How far away is your father?” Kenner asked.

             
“That depends on what you consider far, sir.”

Kenner turned and looked at Terri again.

              “He does make a fair point.” She told him.

             
“Alright,” He said to the Morgril, “Let me put this another way.  How long would it take to get to your father?”

             
“That depends on two factors, sir.”

             
“And what factors are those?” Kenner said feeling a little irritated.

             
“The first would be when we left.  Would you be interested in the second?”

             
“I am understandably curious.”

             
“The second would be how fast we go.”

             
“That makes perfect sense.”

             
“Of course,” The Morgril continued, “All of this is pointless if neither you nor your very pretty companion are Kenner or Terri.  After all, they’re the ones who my father wants to see and not anyone else.”

             
“And what if we’re not Kenner or Terri?”

             
“Then we would part the boats and let you be on your way.”

             
“That sounds reasonable.”

             
“I should probably warn you though, that there are fifty ships with Walechian sails up the river and very angry looking soldiers on them.”

Kenner turned to Terri again.

              “Fifty ships?” He asked in alarm.  “Does Walechia even have that many ships?”