Gift of Gold (The Year of Churning Bloods) (71 page)

              Then suddenly I was staring, unable to understand. The captain of the Storm Striders, the strongest criminal organization in the world and the ruler of every foul-mouthed gold-loving swidler, was a woman. I gaped as the long figure marched up to the largest of the thrones, while the rest of her company remained bowing respectfully. She said something to her first mate who shrugged and whispered something back while glancing at me.

              She turned around to look at me and against all remarkable odds, I recognized her. The impossibility of this coincidence was larger than literally any other absurdity I’d ever experienced. Not even two days ago I’d seen her sculpted of wood and now I was standing before her as she eyed me uncertaintly. As she advanced, I noticed the subtle way her gilded expression seemed to radiate a soft glow. Her braided hair was carelessly flung to one side, giving the impression that she hadn’t worn it any other way for many years.

“What's wrong with this one?” she asked, gesturing carelessly to my bewildered face. I noticed that she pronounced her ‘O’s’ in the exact same way Totara had. I chuckled nervously.

“I know who you are,” I whispered loudly, both out of amazement and fear. Through the corner of my eye, I watched as she slowed and tried to understands I’d just said. She revolved back to me and gaped like a child who had been caught out after bed. She suddenly turned angry.

“And who are you to tell me this? I don’t go by any name,” the woman boasted loudly.

“I wouldn’t be so sure...
Rimu
.”

For a while, nobody said anything. Everyone just stood with large eyes pressed onto the captain to see if this was true.

Her mouth fell open. She looked like a child that had been caught out of bed. “Impossible,” she said flatly. “You have no proof.”

“Proof?” I asked boldly. “Do you want proof Rimu?” I reached into my chest pocket and pulled out her silver pendant, holding it out for everyone to see. “A very special friend gave this to me. He told me that a long time ago it used to be yours.”

The pirate captain shuddered and turned away. “That’s not... possible,” she said in a broken voice. “No one could have given you that. You stole it!” She declared, suddenly marching up and ferociously grabbing me by my armour.

I hesitantly looked up and saw her eyes were starting to water. “You know that’s not true.” I said for only her to hear. “You know that there was someone else.”

“Totara,” she whispered instinctively.

I nodded.

Rimu cleared her throat and brought herself up as if nothing had happened. “I don’t believe that this man Totara is even still alive,” she said darkly. “Suppose he were... Where might he be?”

“For that piece of information, we need to negotiate a little bit further.” Gregor interjected suddenly. I knew in all honesty he was trying to help, but it didn’t seem like an appropriate time.

Rimu frowned deeply.

“Fine. Let me see this contract.”

The first mate stumbled to her side.  “Captain, if I may so be useful as to suggest-”

“You will do no such thing until I have thoroughly studied this very important document,” Rimu demanded strenuously.

The bald pirate backed away a pace or two while looking quite annoyed at the deduction of his social stance.

After many silences, Rimu sighed and looked up.

“You’re both Grimlar trainees looking to kill Orthonus? Are you insane?” Rimu asked, looking absolutely revolted. “All the bloody men the Grimlars have and they decide to send two children after the most powerful dragon in our lifetime.” Mortified at being called a child, Gregor had to twist his legs to keep himself from screaming in protest.

“We need all the help we can get,” I stated.

Rimu considered this. “What is your reward for this quest?”

              “Three wishes.”

              “Any three?” Rimu asked, taken aback.

              “Yes,” I responded quietly.

              Rimu took a moment to quietly confer with the first mate, speaking her thoughts in a raspy whisper. The two haggled for a moment before the bald man nodded and stepped back.

              “Two wishes,” Rimu requested sternly. “In exchange for our battalion’s assistance throughout your quest, we ask for two wishes. This is our condition.”

              “And an awful one at that!” Gregor stated, marching forcefully up to the dealers. “We can give you one wish and no more!”

The first mate shook his head sadly. “Keep in mind what those wishes are being used for in this situation,” he advised Gregor in a soothing voice. “One is being used to let you leave this place alive, the other is for our services in fighting this dragon.” The first mate crossed his arms proudly. “Our deal stands.”

Gregor and I shared a look of disgust from across the rom. “Keep in mind your captain’s position,” I reminded both of them.

Rimu looked intently into my eyes.

              “And what position is that?” she asked with genuine curiosity.

              “We know where Totara is. If you don’t let us leave this ship or you kill us, then you’ll never know.” Rimu’s face remained stony butI could see her pupils widen. The location of the lumberjack seemed to be my bargaining edge.

              “Now hold on!” the first mate said, turning to face me. “Are you saying you would rather die, than tell our captain where this man is?”

              “That I am,” I bluffed grandly.

Gregor and Rimu shifted uncomfortably on their feet, neither liking the stretch they were being contorted into.

The first mate stared at me, completely baffled by my false sincerity.

“Keep in mind if you kill us you get neither wishes, nor the location of Totara. Our offer stands: One glorious wish, you could use for absolutely anything as well as the location of Totara.”

Rimu’s breathing subdued to small, painful intakes of air as she considered everything I’d said so far. “We accept your deal.” 

In the blink of an eye, Gregor had scribbled a taborthodox contract:

             
“Henceforth:

From the activation of this contract, The clan of the pirates, known as the Storm Striders, will be made to help hunt the dragon Orthonus, along with any associates he may have until the end of the year. During this time period of one year, they are obligated to take the orders of Gregor Tyrannus and Jacob Ofpacis so long as they benefit in either finding or killing said abomination(s). Failure to do so, results in the sovereignty taken from their captain Rimu.

In exchange for their services, Gregor Tyrannus agrees to grant one wish to the Storm Striders, so long as they fought to the best of their abilities. Alongside one wish, Jacob Ofpacis agrees to immediately reveal his knowledge of the whereabouts of the lumberjack Totara, to anyone, and everyone whom in the clan of the Storm Striders feels his location may be of any concern.

              Here ends the contract.”

              From his own coat pocket, Gregor removed the same pin from yesterday, and gently pricked his thumb. Rimu did likewise, before Gregor rolled up his contract and forcefully began to shake the hands of every one of the Storm Striders who cheered loudly at this agreement.

              ***

Two hours later, I found myself resting comfortably in a small chamber along with Gregor, who occupied himself by tossing darts at a large cork dartboard. The small porthole opening at the far side of the room filled the area with the bright glow of the early morning light.

As it turned out, I was right about being on a boat at sea. I’ll admit that the first hour was quite disorienting but after the initial shock of it all, I became more than happy to simply drift along. I took great pleasure in exploring every room aboard the ship and even the pirates themselves didn’t seem to mind my company much. If anything, they were too busy daydreaming about what sort of things they would wish for. Growing weary of the silence in the room, I asked Gregor how he thought the deal went.

“It was the powdered luck that led us to Rimu wasn’t it?” Gregor asked, peeling his eyes off of the dartboard for a moment. “If she hadn’t have been there, the only way to get out of there would’ve been to give both wishes, or die fighting.”

“In other words?” I asked, feeling a slow grin slide across my face.

“In other words I don’t think it could have gone any better,” Gregor grumbled in a hollow voice.

I chuckled to myself and laced my fingers together behind my head. “Sow what now?”

              Gregor shrugged. “I suppose the first thing the captain wants to do is sail back to the Charlie-horse woods to meet up with Totara. After that, who knows?”

              “I think I have an idea,” I said, nervously biting the side of my cheek.

              “Oh you think, do you?” Gregor smirked at his own dry joke before inspecting his nails.

              “I
know
I have an idea,” I clarified.

              “Please, the suspense is killing me,” he said, returning back to his game.

“What if we send the pirates after the rest of the people in your father’s debt? We have an entire army now right? It wouldn’t do them any good just letting them gather dust. In the meantime I think we should get the prophecy that I was telling you about earlier.”

Gregor landed his first bullseye, causing him to pump his fists with pride.

I coughed loudly, forcing his attention away from the game.

              “You’re really stubborn about this prophecy idea of yours aren’t you?” Gregor asked. The tone of his voice was plain and impossible to read.

“It’s our next best option.”

Gregor exhaled as he considered my last statement. He sprawled out on the bed he was sitting on, closed his eyes and crossed his arms in deep focus. All in all, he would have the final say. There was little I could do to stop him.

Gregor smacked his lips together and yawned. “Well then, I suppose there’s not much more I can do to try and stop you. Congratulations Sunshine. You’ve persuaded me.”

              I leapt out of bed and dashed into the hallway before I could stop myself. I was so happy I didn’t even notice that I had bounced straight into Button’s room. I froze as suddenly I realized where I was.

Sitting huddled up on one side was a flabby mess of a man who looked like he’d been sobbing for the past couple of hours.

              “Hey,” I said, awkwardly raising a hand.

Button glared but didn’t speak.

“I just wanted to say sorry for-”

“Why’re
you
sorry!?” Button thundered unexpectedly. “You didn’t try to sign your own fleet away! You didn’t lose a drinking contest to someone half your size! You don’t have a stupid name!” Button stood up and promptly fell headfirst into his dresser with a dull thud. He howled in pain before forcing himself back onto his feet and stumbling terribly. He knocked a half dozen empty bottles from a shelf which shattered on the floor with a loud crash.

Terrified, I tried to dash out the door yet this only seemed to aggravate Button further.

“Don’t leave!” he insisted, blocking my advance with an outstretched arm. “Please,” he added desperately.

I reluctantly stepped back in the room and awkwardly sat myself on the bed.

Button threw himself into a nearby armchair and cupped his face his fat hands “You don’t actually know this but... I’m a joke of a pirate,” he confessed in a low whisper.