Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li: The Morcyth Saga Book Three (4 page)

“You’re welcome,” he replies in between
barking out orders. Turning his attention back to them, he says,
“There’s a room at the stern you can use while you’re aboard. There
are some goods stored there, sorry about that, but it’s used as an
auxiliary storage compartment.”

“Thank you,” James says. “I’m sure it’ll be
fine.”

Nodding, the captain adds, “Just stay out of
the crews way and we’ll get you where you need to go.”

“Which ways the stern,” Miko asks.

The captain points to the rear of the
ship.

They head in that direction and come to a
door leading into the raised portion at the end of the ship.
Opening the door, they find a small room, half filled with boxes
and bolts of colored cloth. “They must keep this stuff here so it
won’t be ruined by the rain,” suggests James.

“Probably,” Jiron says as they enter the
room. Within, they find three hammocks slung one above the other,
between the walls. Miko eyes them suspiciously when James informs
him, “They’re for sleeping.”

Miko goes over to them and says
incredulously, “You’re kidding!” He takes a hold of the bottom one
and pushes it. He just stares at it as it swings back and
forth.

“No, seriously,” he says as he sits down on
the middle one and proceeds to lie down. “In tight quarters such as
are on a ship, this is the only way to maximize space for the crew
and still have plenty of space for the cargo.”

Eyeing them dubiously, he sets his pack down
in the corner. He comes over to the lowest one and opens it up,
sitting down on it. Attempting to lie down, he suddenly flips over
and lands on the floor.

Jiron bursts out laughing at the sight.

James flashes him an annoyed look and he
soon stops. Turning his attention back to Miko who had gotten up
from the floor red faced, he says, “It takes some practice.”
Hopping down from his hammock, he holds Miko’s open for him and
says, “Here, sit down then lift one leg over.”

Miko hesitates a moment, but then comes over
and does as James says. Once he’s straddling the hammock, James
says, “Now, lie back and nestle in between the sides. Once you’re
secure, bring your feet up together so you remain balanced.”

Nervous about hitting the floor again, Miko
takes it slow and lies back until he’s nestled in the hammock.
James keeps a firm hold of it while he’s getting in. Then, lifting
his feet, he brings them into the hammock until he’s completely
settled within it.

James lets the hammock go and it begins
swaying with the rhythm of the ship riding the waves.

Miko panics and grips the side of the
hammock tightly as soon as James lets go, but soon realizes that
he’s not going to immediately fall out. After a few moments of not
falling out, he begins to relax. His nerves settle down and he
starts to enjoy the swaying rhythm the hammock makes with the
rocking of the ship.

“Ever been in a hammock before?” James asks
Jiron.

Shaking his head, he says, “No, never even
seen ‘em.”

“Want me to help you in?” he asks.

“No thank you. I’d just as soon sleep on the
deck,” he says as he makes a space for himself over in the
corner.

“Suit yourself,” James tells him.

Going back to the door, he makes to leave
when he hears Miko holler, “Don’t leave me in here!”

Smiling, he goes back over and helps him to
get out of the hammock. Taking Miko with him, he leaves the room
and walks out on deck where the salt air whipping off the water
almost knocks him over in its intensity. Gaining his balance, he
moves to the edge of the ship by the rail where he gazes out over
the water.

Back the way they’d come, the land is now
only a thin line on the horizon. Everywhere as far as he can see is
water, blue-green water with a sky of crystal blue above them. A
grin breaks out upon his face, always happens when he’s riding a
boat. Taking a ferry back home elicited the same reaction. It just
feels good to have the wind whip around you with just the sound of
the bow breaking the surf. He stands there mesmerized by the
experience.

Miko stands beside him, affected the same
way. Coming in on Nate’s cousin’s ship from the mines had been less
enjoyable. He’d been sick plus had had the added worry of Nate’s
condition on his mind as well. Now, though, he can truly experience
it. Ever since Al-Kur when the slave wagon had stopped to pick up
several more slaves from a ship at anchor, he’s wanted to do
this.

After standing there in quiet contemplation,
the captain comes up behind them and says, “We’re making for
Maradan, a city on a local island near here. We have some cargo to
unload and others to procure before leaving. We’ll be spending the
night at dock before lifting anchor in the morning.”

“Maybe we could do some sightseeing?” James
asks, turning around.

“Might not be a bad idea,” the captain
agrees. “When we leave there, it’ll be four more days until we drop
anchor again.”

“Anything worthwhile to see on the island?”
he asks.

“Not really,” he tells him. “There are
several nice inns if you want to take advantage of them while we’re
there. It’s possible you may find something of interest, though my
men tend to just stay on the ship while we’re there.”

“Thank you anyway, captain,” James says.

“No problem,” he replies, “just thought you
might want to know.” He then turns, and climbs the stairs to the
deck over their room where the helmsman stands at the tiller.

James glances to Miko, “Wanna do some
sightseeing while we’re there?”

“Sure,” he replies, “better than being
cooped up on this ship.”

Just then, a large creature similar in
nature to a whale from back home, suddenly crests the water and
falls back, causing water to geyser up into the air.

“What was that?” Miko asks, wide-eyed.

“Not sure,” James answers, awed. “Back home
it might’ve been called a whale.”

“It was incredible,” he says as he gazes out
across the water, hoping to see another.

James looks out over the water too, but he’s
more interested in the serenity it brings to him than trying to
locate another of the creatures. He’d always found great
peacefulness in watching the waves whenever he’d been on a ferry or
charter boat back home.

By this time, the island they’d left has
completely disappeared behind them. James stays by the rail until
he begins to see another island coming up ahead of them. As they
approach it, the captain begins hollering orders to his crew as
they trim some of the sails to slow their approach.

“Looks like we’re making for the island over
there,” Jiron says as he comes up behind them.

“I think so too,” James replies. “Miko and I
are going to go exploring on the island while the captain makes
some trades. He said we wouldn’t be leaving until tomorrow morning.
Want to come along?”

“Sure,” he says.

They stay by the rail as the island ahead of
them grows bigger and bigger. It isn’t long before they’re able to
make out the docks and other ships at anchor there. The island
itself is heavily populated, houses dot the land from one end to
the other.

Commands can be heard being shouted by the
captain as he makes ready to dock. The sailors begin furling the
sails and several go over to the railing at the bow, readying lines
to be cast to those who’re waiting on the docks.

With skill honed through years of practice,
the captain and his men slow the ship as they approach the dock.
The sailors toss the lines over to the men who’re waiting on the
dock. With quick speed, the dock workers wrap the lines around
mainstays and they can hear the dock groan as the ship pulls
against the lines and comes to a stop.

Once the ship has stopped its forward
momentum, the ship drifts backward and the dock workers take up the
slack in the lines until the ship is securely tied to the dock.

The captain comes over to them and says,
“You can disembark now if you like. We’ll be here for some time.
Just be back by sunup.”

“Sure thing captain,” James says.

“That sure was something,” Miko exclaims.
“The way you brought the ship right up to the docks, at just the
right speed.”

The captain smiles at his exuberance and
replies, “All in a days work, me boy.” He turns back to his men and
begins barking out orders as they start getting the cargo ready to
be taken off the ship.

“Shall we?” Jiron asks, indicating the
gangplank a sailor had just put in place.

“Absolutely,” replies James as he heads
toward it, with Miko just behind.

When they disembark, the first thing that
James notices is the lack of soldiers on the streets. There was a
reduced presence back in Corillian, but here, there’s a total lack
of them.

“Guess the Empire doesn’t feel the need to
have soldiers patrolling here,” he observes.

“Probably not,” agrees Jiron. Looking
around, he sees not much more than houses and some stores. “Doesn’t
look like there’s too much to this place.”

Feeling a tug on his arm, James looks to
Miko who’s pointing to a bakery shop. “James, tarts!”

Smiling, he allows himself to be dragged
over there where they buy a dozen tarts with a red berry filling.
Miko pays for them from the money Miriam had given him and then
they leave the shop. James hears Miko licking his fingers and
glances at him, one tart had already bit the dust.

They come back to where Jiron is waiting for
them and Miko hands him one. “Ever had one before?” he asks
him.

Nodding, Jiron says, “Yeah, a couple times.
Tersa really likes them.”

Moving along, they proceed down the street
to see what there is to see. They come to a woodcrafter who has
several wooden ships displayed and James goes over to inspect them.
He picks up a small one and says, “This would make a good present
for Arkie.”

The woodcrafter, seeing his interest, stops
the work he was doing on another of the wooden boats and comes
over.

After some half-hearted haggling, he hands
over the money and walks away with the small single masted ship.
Putting it in his bag, he continues on.

They spend the day sightseeing, nothing real
special going on. James begins thinking how nice it would’ve been
to have Meliana here with him. As they walk, he sees a craftsman
working on ceramic figurines and sees one of a dolphin, at least it
looked close enough to one to call it that. After some haggling, he
arranges to have it sent back to Corillian and to Nate’s family’s
house.

“Why are you having it sent there?” Jiron
asks.

“Don’t know where to send it to Meliana, so
will send it to Miriam and have her take it to her,” he explains.
He writes out a letter and gives it to the man with instructions on
where to send it. Handing the man the money, they soon leave his
shop and continue on.

As the day progresses, the wind begins to
pick up and clouds begin to form on the horizon. “Hope a storm’s
not coming,” he says. “It could make for an interesting trip
tomorrow.”

Miko looks to the clouds, but doesn’t think
too much of them, “They don’t look too bad.”

“Not now, true,” Jiron says. “But they could
make the ride choppy tomorrow.”

When the day is almost over, they find an
inn and everyone gets their own room. Miko said he was tired of
hearing them snore. After settling in, they meet in the common room
of the inn for dinner and entertainment. The bard up on the stage
is decent but they couldn’t understand all the songs as most of his
repertoire was in the Empire’s language. He did sing a few songs in
the common tongue for those who spoke it.

The next morning, when James awakens, the
rain is being blown hard against the side of the inn by the wind.
The floor is wet over by the window from where the wind had blown
it in throughout the night. Through the window, he sees the dark
clouds that have blanketed the sky overnight. The ships at anchor
bob with the motion of the waves rolling in, and he looks with
trepidation at the choppy water. Not at all the calm placid scene
of yesterday and most likely will make for an interesting ride. He
hears a knock at the door and turns toward it just as it swings
open.

Miko comes walking into the room, his pack
slung over one shoulder. Seeing James at the window he walks over
to him and says, “Looks like the storm came in after all.”

“Yeah,” replies James as he again glances
back out the window. “We better hurry down to the docks before
Captain Caril sails.”

James grabs his pack and then they go out to
the hallway where they find Jiron exiting from his room. “You guys
see the storm brewing outside?” he asks.

“Yeah,” replies James. “It’s going to make
for a fun day.”

Giving James an odd look he says, “Fun? I
don’t think so.”

“I was being sarcastic,” he explains.

They make their way out of the inn and the
wind drives the rain into them as they hurry down to the docks. By
the time they get to the ship, the rain has succeeded in thoroughly
soaking them. Racing up the gangplank, they’re greeted by the
captain who says, “’Bout ready to send someone to go look for you
guys.”

“Sorry if we’re late,” James says
apologetically.

“You’re not going to sail in this are you?”
Miko asks.

The captain breaks into a laugh and replies,
“It’ll take more than a little storm to keep us at dock.”

Miko looks over to the sea and sees the
choppy waters and swallows hard. He looks to James who only
shrugs.

“You boys get on into your room at the
stern,” the captain says. “We’re casting off the lines now.” A
sailor pulls in the gangplank.

The dockworkers untie the ship and toss the
lines back to the crew aboard her. The captain begins barking out
orders as his men hop to comply. The ship begins to turn slowly as
it heads once more out to open waters.