Gula POV
"Ugh," I immediately groaned before my brain could articulate why.
I hadn't even gotten my eyes open, yet the pain coursing through my body demanded immediate attention. While the dull aches throughout my body and stuffed nose still made themselves known, they only just barely registered past the sharp stab in my skull. Far from being blunted by a night's sleep, the headache now had a bite that made it hard to even think. Something the odd sensation of cold only emphasized.
"Shit." A voice called from somewhere.
Corralling my failing mental ability, I felt a pillow on my left cheek and from there placed the source of the voice as the kelton bunk beside mine. Even then, I still couldn't be asked to open my eyes. Something I didn't need to hear the rustling of cloth beneath my bunk.
"A rough start?" Lokan's teasing tone floated from somewhere in front of my face.
An attempt to speak was made and soundly countered by agony lancing along my throat.
"Are you ok?" The blue enten asked, now sounding properly worried.
I finally forced open my right eye. Even that crack of light made my orbs ache. Never, in all my life, had I known such pain could be produced by eyes. When I saw an indistinct purple shape, I immediately closed my eyes again before sending a spirit connection blindly forward.
'Food and blankets. That's the typical remedy.' I said, hopefully not to myself.
'I'll see what can be done. What about the healing enchantments? They would help, right?'
'Even if they would, we can't have the faeries asking why all the mana is going into our shirts' collars. Food, please.'
'Sure! Right. I'll see what they've got this morning.'
I spent the rest of the day not moving an inch from the position I started in, save for sustenance and the expulsion of the resulting waste. The two kelton guards weren't any better off, with a slew of blankets being needed for the three of us. For the meals, even Penchen had to help, between tipping the drinks into our mouths and holding the bowls. Any gratitude I might have been forced to feel towards him was thankfully blotted out by the simmering agony. An entire day, murdered by dull aches and shivering not even the southern heat could keep down.
When I woke from sleep, only some low aches around my shoulders greeted me. I even managed to get out of bed, bathe with a cold pail, and change into a white shirt and brown pants under my own power. The two keltons were still down in their bunks, with the black one going up to get breakfast when I did and bringing down some portions for his fellow. I was half tempted to join them, considering there was nothing to see besides yellow specks floating around the ship and white mushroom walls.
The morning went by as I idled near the railing on the right….starboard side? Starboard side of the purple boat. I spent what may have been hours under the sun, trying to ignore the residual pain by tracing the curves in the wood with a finger. I was so lost in the exercise that when an indistinct yell came from the stairway to the left, I jumped in place. I couldn't quite make out what was said, but the stomping feet coming up didn't require any interpretation. After a second, both Lokan and Penchen came sprinting up from below deck.
"Ferals!" The gold snake man yelled, trying to look brave as Lokan crouched behind him.
For a second, the world stopped.
Then a flurry of grey heads and blue robes, moving too quickly to make out any individual, ran downstairs, up the masts, or to the captain's quarters. A surge of adrenaline put down any lingering aches as I sprinted forward and past the enten pair. The faeries' short height meant they couldn't move as fast as I could, yet they managed to not move so slowly that I could justify shoving past.
Traffic split between those going down on the right and those going up, bow or spear in hand, on the left. It was remarkably efficient, despite each second feeling like a minute as I pounded downstairs. The instant my foot hit the bottom floor, I took a sharp right. My kelton guards were getting ready, but the brown one had been caught at a bad moment as he was still struggling to get out of the blanket. By the time me and the black kelton were donned in leather armor and swords, he was just getting his holster fastened. A single nod between us was all that was needed to leave him behind.
We rushed up the now mostly deserted stairway, save a few stragglers suffering the same luck as the brown kelton. Bright midday sun blasted in my face before I stepped onto the deck. Every head looking to the right made it clear where the enemy was. I was still forced to move further ahead for those behind me. Getting close to the faeries immediately brought the sting of vomit to my nose, the source of which pooled at some of the sailors' feet while others retched in place. Furrowing my eyebrows, my gaze followed theirs.
Along the bank of the river, about a hundred feet away, were entens staring back at us. In the bushes, in front of the white mushrooms, and a few with tentative feet in the water. Each was bearing a crude spear or club of wood. Some of the luckier ones also had swords or halberds, though any metal to be found on these was either rusted to ruin or had spots promising such a future. It was a purple fellow sporting a white chest, standing rather boldly atop a tangle of roots in the center, that drew my gaze.
I looked into his red slitted eyes. There was no intelligence or spark of sentience to be found. Even animals had a sense of acknowledgment when they looked at you, but in those crimson irises, there was no mutual recognition of life. Which at least spared any embarrassment that might have been felt from his complete lack of clothing, something his companions also disdained.
Idle curiosity prompted my eyes to travel downward before I could make the decision to do so. I wanted to slap myself as my gaze completed the journey, and when it did, vomit almost instantly came up my throat to join the bits already littering the deck. The purple entens' male organ had nearly rotted away, leaving only a single exposed testicle to dangle by a vein, all of which sported a sickly green from decay. Looking at the others provided no more comfort as each had their indications of sex either completely decomposed into patches of skin or were in various stages of becoming such.
You might very well be dead soon.
The self-scolding worked well enough to get the contents of my stomach down, though the sting of bile remained on my tongue. My hand went to the sword at my hip as I scanned the crowd of snake people. I was struck by the range of colors the thirty or so entens had. Yellows, pinks, teals, reds, and all the other colors and all the shades between were on display. Their rainbow of scales would be called beautiful if not for the other failings.
Our two groups stared at each other for a long moment, even as more faeries and the brown kelton came from below deck. We were the moving ones, however, and it was the feral enten's who had to push to keep us in sight. A rainbow tide of scales moved through bush and along roots at the edge of the river, yet none ventured beyond knee deep into the water. They kept pace with us until a rightward bend in the stream came.
Rather than continue on, the enten pack bunched up at the bend. A sea of cold, unfeeling eyes stared at us as the river took us to other lands. When the ship was far enough away that all I could see were colorful specks, a cough from the left drew everyone's eyes. It was the captain, his face showing a paleness his grey skin couldn't explain. He snorted, sending the yellow string between his nostrils up and down before turning to me. Instead of stopping, his pink eyes continued past me to rest on the enten couple. A slow, deliberate breath came and went from the captain before he finally spoke.
"It would appear the wind enchantments interfere with your smell."
Penchen only stood rock still, numb to the world, leaving the blue snake woman behind him to nod.
"A perfectly reas-sonable thing." She offered with a stiff smile.
"Yes, it is," The captain sang before turning to his crew. "Clean the ship up! NOW! And if I get even a whiff of sour on anything, I will use your hides for sails. Start drawing up lots for full watches, while you're at it." His singing tone did nothing to hide the sharpness of his words.
Low grumbles wafted up. That didn't mean any dared slack in their tasks, however. The keltons and I scooted off to the right near Lokan and Penchen while most of the faeries moved below deck. After a minute of idling, I noticed the animated movements between the entens. Whatever was going on between them, a conversation was clearly going on in a spirit connection. Not wanting any more surprises for the day, I moved to Lokan's right side while Penchen stood off to the left.
"What's the problem?" I asked, emphasizing the point by grasping my sword.
Lokan bit her lip before looking at Penchen. He looked like a statue with only the slight sway in his leather shorts showing that he was made of flesh and not painted stone, which made the wail and sudden downward drop all the more surprising. He remained on his feet with his hands grasping his head's frills as he curled into a standing ball. A few of the faeries only spared him a passing glance before giving him a wide berth on their trip past.
"It does-sn't work!" He cried to no one in particular.
"He had a friend among that crowd back there. There was mud along their frill." Lokan explained in a pained voice.
Having that hopeful idea shattered, in such a horrific manner, held back any snide comments I may have been tempted to make. Penchen was properly shaking in place now as he rocked back and forth on his soles.
"If you need a s-some one to listen to." Lokan offered with a comforting hand travelling to his shoulder.
When Penchen saw the coming palm, he jerked back as his own hand raised in defense. Lokan bit her lower lips before standing back up, her face trying to appear understanding. Then he took a quick look at me.
For my part, it was hard to convey 'I will hunt you down, skin you alive, and have your hide used for a carpet if you try to leave her' on facial expression alone. Judging by his lowering of the guarding hand, some of it got through. Penchen turned his gaze downward to seek answers from the purple wood, content to sit still for a few seconds before standing back up to meet Lokan's gaze.
"Rites-s need performing. The dead need to be put to rest even as their bodies-s still shamble through the world. You said you're new to these lands-s. This is an important part of our people's lives."
Lokan's blue eyebrows came together while she bit her lower lip.
"But they're not dead. They're just….s-sick."
My true feelings more resembled the disbelief on Penchen's face than the passive one I made sure to display. It was odd, being on his side against Lokan, but there was no way I could recall those wretched figures running along the river and agree with her. That I still even entertained the notion that such horror could be healed left me feeling foolish, despite all that I had seen Eli achieve.
Their clash didn't stop Lokan from gamely taking the arm Penchen was offering. As they retreated below deck, I felt confident that my irritation was more from a lack of my husband's company than disdain for Penchen. With the faeries now bringing up buckets and plying mops to the various bits of expelled breakfast on the deck, I went down the stairs with the two keltons. When we got back to the bunks, the aches started making their demands well known.
Getting into my top bunk took a bit more effort than usual and the mood of those wandering past felt like shock, similar to new recruits after a battle though no blood had been spilled. The only bit of levity to be found was from the brown kelton on the top bunk in front of mine, whose contorted face was seemingly contemplating how he could murder his blanket.
I passed the day in bed, only getting up for a meal or its expulsion, content to let the aches and sore throat keep me company when Lokan wasn't around. Not even being enveloped in the big toad's spirit connection merited much of a reaction. When night came, I welcomed it for the possibility that I might feel better tomorrow.
Before I opened my eyes at first waking, I felt that the aches had dulled to a mere annoyance. Feeling pleased, I got up and stretched in place, the world still black. However, a cough came up, and that soreness lanced along the inner walls of my throat. Better, but not good, either.
A bad mood settled into my bones like an almost physical force, motivated mostly by impatience rather than the sickness itself. An entire day had been totally lost and another made miserable, more than the feral enten's made it, at least. I had paid the price for a few hours visit twice over, thrice even, and I was quite done being sick, whatever my body was feeling.
I tried to keep that determination up for the day as I lounged on the port side of the ship. To my thinking, going with the river meant we should be going significantly faster, yet the constant curves around giant mushroom stalks never let us get up to a good speed. At late day, just as the sky was turning shades of orange, I was contemplating going to bed as we took another bend around a white wall for the thousandth time, only for open ocean to greet us, which we returned by having the ship give one last big push until the ship splashed onto the sea proper.
A moment of confusion came with my ears searching for crashing waves and nose sniffing for that salty sea air. Then I remembered why we didn't die in the yellow clouds. It took only a second longer as we turned right along the shore for a whirlwind to blow in a hundred different directions. Whatever shapes the air had been contorted into had suddenly been undone, leaving odd pops and whooshing to fill every ear before the pounding of waves and scent of ocean rolled over the ship.
We made it.
Unprompted, a small cheer went up from the sailors. Off to the right were Penchen and Lokan, locked in a tight hug. Their most notable feature was the lack of mud along their inner frills. I was tempted to join in the festivities, but my throat prevented any conversation or cheering. Instead, I decided to go downstairs and prepare to leave the ship I had called home for several days.
After half an hour or more of sailing on the port side, my mansion on water finally peeked out over the horizon. The frojan city with its endless canopies rested off to the left, barely seen as I kept my eyes on the ship.
"All right!" The fairy captain's singing voice called from behind.
I turned to see the small, grey skinned man with a yellow cap and blue robes. He gave me a smile that only just showed his sharp teeth.
"It's been a pleasure, orc." He said with a slight bow.
Something about him saying 'orc' made me feel like I should be offended. That they didn't like using proper names with strangers blunted the offense. Come to think of it, I hadn't really talked with any of them save on business. Putting it all down to my poor social skills, I gave him a slight nod.
"For some of us, it certainly has been." I agreed with a pointed look to the enten couple in the back getting their goodbye's in.
A small chuckle was all the captain gave me before pulling away to allow those hoisting the boat to place it into the ocean. I turned towards the stairs only to find the two keltons coming up with the black one bearing my bag alongside his. When the pair came within arm's reach, the boat was finally dropped into the sea. It took Lokan finally leaving Penchen, waving tearfully farewell as she did so, before the faeries used their magic to raise the boat up to the ships side.
On a practical level, getting in the boat was almost trivial compared to the unsteady swinging of ropes. That didn't change my inherent distrust of the magic as I got in. When the three faeries got in, the boat lowered until it was the water of the ocean keeping us up with all attending waves. We shot off towards the ship that had become a second home. Faint echoes of a headache bounced in my skull alongside bumps in the ocean. I might have been irritated if not for the bright sun and the taste of open sea breeze. After a few minutes the distant hulk of wood became a jutting wall.
The faeries brought us up to the side of the ship just as a rope ladder was thrown down. Everyone respectfully held back to let me go up first and I didn't refuse their offer, though I did bring my bag up under my own power this time. It was easier than normal as the faeries used their magic to keep the boat completely still, yet the upward trip was a demanding one, courtesy of the subtle aches.
When I finally reached the top, I slung my bag over the side before getting the rest of me over the railing. Sailors, of both human and kelton variety, stood around bearing faces of plain curiosity whereas the smaller green girls looked on with faces of eager wonder.
"Get below deck," I commanded, hoisting my bag off the ground as I did so. "And set up a solitary bunk beneath my cabin for the rest of us. You don't want what we've been dealing with these past few days. After we're cornered away, get us underway."
Most took a few cautionary steps back, while some either ran down the stairs on the right leading below deck or didn't move from their spot for a few seconds. I simply nodded to the crowd and moved to the stairs on the left. By the time I got up towards the double doors leading into the captain's quarters, the brown kelton and Lokan had made it up to a now empty deck. It took another minute for the black one to make it, and when he did, I coughed loudly enough to get their attention.
"We're staying away from everyone until we get over this. You'll just have to stay in the storage beneath my room until this dammed sickness passes."
"But I'm not sick!" Lokan pouted with puckered lips.
"That doesn't guarantee you can't spread it," I said, smiling as warmly as I could manage. "Besides, your trip was far more enjoyable than ours. You should at least suffer the tail end of it with your fellow travelers."
She puckered her lips like a stubborn child. When she saw the two keltons sagely nodding, Lokan huffed before taking off to the room below me with a swing of her bag over her shoulder. Satisfied, I turned around and went back into my main room. The desk was right ahead, lying in its usual spot in front of a wall of windows. It was the bed to the left that called to me. Laying my bag on the wooden floor, I threw myself onto the red blankets, letting any remaining tension in my bones bleed out into the plush bed. Expecting a simple bunk from the faeries to match this would be unfair, but that didn't mean the difference went unnoticed.
Feeling the electric buzz in every crevice, I decided that the needed conversation might as well begin. Sending out a spirit connection to meet the one covering my skin, I took a deep breath before beginning.
'Thousand Screams Toad.' I tentatively asked the unseen frojan.
'Was the trip a fruitful one?' A booming avalanche asked.
'We've proved it works. The bigger problem is the crews to make the journey. They're going to need to run some people down, prove it's safe and all that. It would probably help things if the feral enten's weren't stalking about. Could you perhaps expand your spirit connection to provide some safety?'
A mountain humming filled whatever space my skull had to give.
'Expanding my territory invites questions. Dangerous questions for all involved.'
I raised an eyebrow at how anyone would even know, yet held my mental tongue all the same.
'But the crews aren't important.' The toad continued. 'Would the mage find this delay sufficient reason to hold back her end?'
For a few seconds, I pondered what the non-existent mage would probably think.
'They're still guaranteed ten or so percent of a major trade route for eternity, from what the fairy captain said. As long as that's still in the offering, I can't imagine it would cause a delay in making it. Handing it off, however, probably won't happen until the first bits of gold actually land in their coffers.'
Silence filled the spirit connection for a second before the big toad grumbled.
'Let's hope the crews quickly find the stomach to do their jobs.'
I nodded to the wooden ceiling.
There was nothing left to say on my end, and after a few seconds of nothing coming from the toad, I stretched across the bed before ending my connection. After a few minutes, a knock came from the double doors.
"Ma'm," Geoff called from the outside.
"Yes?" I responded, pushing past the slight pain in my throat.
"Permission to shove off?"
"Granted. Take us out of here. Oh! And do you know of any places that smugglers gather?"
"Plenty. There's one spot close by, Maid's Kiss, that the lad's like stopping at."
I raised an eyebrow at the doors.
"Is there anyone there to smuggle me into Crasden?"
"I know of two reliable sorts who could take you."
"Good. Make way then."
Footsteps quickly pattered off.
I spent the rest of the day enjoying proper blankets and the dinner consisting of bread and a stew filled with beef. Sadly, we were forced to anchor at a nameless island as night overtook day, still under the omnipresent spirit connection. Settling in between plush red blankets took only a second, and the void came as quickly.
The sleep was so good I felt it the instant I opened my eyes. Not even the soreness in my throat made itself immediately known with a waking yawn. Instead, it had retreated to a dull ache. Looking to my left, towards the wide windows along the wall revealed a sun already past the horizon. I furrowed my eyebrows at the relatively late hour and lack of breakfast. With a sense of trepidation, I got out of bed and retrieved clothes from the wardrobe opposite of my bed.
As I prepared a white shirt and brown pants, I then noticed the lack of noise outside. Opening the double doors, I walked onto the walkway. Below me was an almost empty deck, save a few souls bearing buckets of sewage being tossed overboard or freshly cleaned rags. Most oddly, they were regular sailors, not the small green girls who had been previously tasked with such chores.
"What's going on?" I asked the closest man, a tanned specimen with thick black hair. The man's blue and white striped shirt had sweat on it despite the early hour and weak sun, raising my concern to a proper worry. My intention to address him alone didn't stop the rest from also coming to a standstill.
"Sickness, Cap'n." He said in a strained voice. "We're about the only ones capable of standing right now."
Guilt washed over me as a grimace forced itself onto my face. Action, however, was needed more than any words. I moved to the right, laying my clothes on the floor as I did so. My bare feet stomped on wood with only the crashing of waves to fill my ears as I went to the storeroom below the captain's quarters. I marched up to the door and knocked on it.
"Lefty! The crew needs us." I yelled.
"What? Why?" A grumble floated from the door.
"They got our cough."
Two sets of loud grumbles greeted the message while a deep, male voice replaced Lokan's.
"But we ran in here immediately! Even slept on these shitty cots."
A sympathetic smile was all I could offer the door's protests.
"Apparently, that wasn't enough. I'll be out here working with everyone else. Along with you guys, when you're ready."
The chorus of moans didn't come with an explicit rejection, so I turned around and went towards the stairs below deck.
It wasn't easy, caring for dozens of ill men. Between the need to empty buckets of various fluids and help feed some of the worst off, I barely had time to think about how unpleasant the work was. Not that I would allow myself the complaint even if the time was at hand. They were suffering because of a decision I made, without any accusing gazes.
Looking at the worst cases, they were merely miserable instead of close to death. That didn't mean I would put them through this again. Seeing the Beastmen was important, for both myself and our futures. Asking so many to suffer like this as a regular practice was too cruel. Either I would have to leave this sham of a captain's life behind to work fully in the beast lands or….
Even now, as I worked the sewage of the sick, the notion of abandoning a fellow Garren spawn couldn't even be so much as contemplated.
The sun eventually fled the sky and the healthy caretakers were allowed to finally take care of themselves. I gobbled down some poorly prepared fish on my bed, courtesy of my own meager skills as the cook had been among the worst casualties, before turning in for the night. This time, it was exhaustion that accompanied me to oblivion rather than wonder at the bed's softness.
Despite the previous day's labors, I woke up in a good mood and had some early morning sun coming out of the window to accompany it. There was even the sound of work going on outside. Feeling the grime of clothes worn for days, I forced myself out of bed. Scouring the room for the previous change of clothes I had gathered, I remembered their casual toss outside. Getting up, I made my way to the double doors and opened them.
The lower deck beyond the railing sported men, of both human and kelton variety, working on the sails, deck, and hundreds of other tasks a ship needed to set off. I turned right and saw the pile where I had laid the white shirt and brown pants. Instead of being irritated at my lack of care, I decided to be grateful the weather hadn't seen fit to soak them in rain or blow them overboard.
While I was undergoing a towel wash in cold water, the ship gave a lurch announcing our departure. After getting the day's clothes on, I left the room to peruse the crew. A few minutes of asking and looking around informed me that they were mostly recovered, though there were a few who still couldn't leave their beds. Thankfully, the wind didn't care as it blew us across ocean waves. The only sour note was the breakfast of hard crackers, courtesy of a kitchen staff losing half its members to sectioned off bunks for the sick.
After a few days of endless debate over staying or going, the last bits of the disease were officially shaken off. Something the chef celebrated with a hearty fish stew, which I enjoyed at my desk with a light beer. As I was bringing the white, creamy liquid up to my mouth, the ever-present spirit connection covering every pore on my skin pulled away. I dropped the spoon into the bowl, losing some precious drops to the wooden floor as I did so.
The world blurred as I turned out of the chair as fast as I could. A forceful shove on the meager throne granted me access to the false floor below. Pulling it up revealed the box with a copper rod on top and a metal mesh on the bottom. I snatched it, then stood up, adjusting my grey shirt and black pants for the people who would never see them. My finger hovered on the side opposite the mesh where the needed button rested, ready to start the conversation. My tongue, however, wasn't.
What exactly was I going to say to him? That I wanted another healing craft for myself? There was nothing I could give him in exchange. Then the past several days came back to me. No, I wasn't going through that again.
….
What if I just mentioned how sick I was? That wasn't asking for a craft, but he would surely offer such to help me. Having found the solution, I pressed the button.
"Hey," I said into the metal mesh.
Gula! You manipulative cur!
The realization of how underhanded such a tactic was hit a second too late. I stood there, desperately hoping the word hadn't traveled to its destination or that the other end was left unattended. A sudden crackle made me bite my lips white.
"It's Eli."
I put my free left hand to my forehead. Of course, why would God give me even a second more of time to figure out what I should say?
"Gula?"
"Sorry," I spoke into the radio, the subtle tickle of a cough lingering. "Just got distracted. The trip was a success. And from what I can tell, the toad can't read lips."
"Glad to hear. We couldn't see the fairy ship in the clouds of yellow save the top of the mast. We did see the deck of your ship when you stayed at anchor near that island. Was there an accident or a fault in the construction?" Eli asked.
A snort of sheer disbelief escaped to the radio before I could force it down.
"Nothing you've made or inspected has ever had any fault in it. No. It was just a nasty cough going around, thanks to your wife spreading it." I casually rebuffed.
….
I squeezed the radio, turning my knuckles light green.
Did I-
"It must have been a bad one to take an entire ship out of commission. I'll need to make a slow-healing and warming craft for you if these visits are going to be a regular thing."
I looked to the wooden ceiling, took a deep breath, then placed the radio to my chest. Mentally replaying the conversation in my head took a second, but I found that it was just an offhanded comment that wasn't properly considered. I'm not manipulating my husband, I'm just an idiot.
"Is something wrong with the radio?" Eli asked from my chest.
I brought the wooden black back to my right ear.
"Just the person using it." I offered with a smile, trying to sort out what to do.
Then, at this critical moment, I felt myself give in to weakness. Pride, not being a burden, blah, blah, blah. The prospect of going through that hell even one more time finally snapped through any remaining barriers. I'd kick myself in the future, no doubt, but I at least wouldn't be coughing up my lungs as I did so.
"If…. If you would give me such a craft, it would be greatly appreciated. Putting the crew through this every other week is bound to get someone killed. Who knows, maybe if I stay long enough among the beastmen, I'll get used to it. Which would help with the big decision.
I'm either going to hand over the captain's hat for this ship or leave Lokan to deal with the new Garren spawn by herself. Her giving me a nephew might tilt me towards staying on her side of the operation."
"Oh? A man has snatched her up?"
A thrill of gossip ran up my spine. I felt days of unspoken words finally find their freedom as they slipped from my tongue.
"Snatched? The guy, Penchen, was just lounging on the ship as a scout. Doing nothing but stretches and swimming. Apparently, that's enough for Lokan. Damned girl let him take her for everything she had to give. And that might just include a babe, or egg, whichever they come out as.
That's still not enough good luck for the man. Lokan want's to bring him to work the warehouse we're setting up on the beastman side of things. Honestly, taking that scouting job was the best decision he ever made."
"And you want to stay there to monitor the new couple?"
"More to monitor the beastmen. Once this-"
I waved my left in the air to encompass everything around me.
"Plan or conquest takes off, I want to say which of their leaders we can trust. I can still visit you, get a ride on one of the ships that are going to clog up the river soon."
"As long as we can keep such an essential service going, there shouldn't be any problems handing the ship back over to Beaton. If the captain's chair hasn't gotten too comfortable, that is." Eli said, a smile clearly on his face despite my inability to see it.
"Eh," I scoffed dismissively, "Honestly, I don't know if I was ever really the captain. I made some decisions, sure, but there's so much to this job, and I'm sure Beaton was working in the background, correcting mistakes I didn't catch. Besides, this was his ship first."
With that last sentence, I felt the decision had been made. I could spend days pondering what to do inside my head, yet verbally going through it made the path clear.
"You know what, Eli, yeah. I'll move to the beast lands. After I've gotten a few ends here and there sorted."
"One of those ends is a new member of the family. This guy…. What was his name?"
"Penchen."
"Penchen is going to be kept at arm's length as far as the organization goes. The few bits of description doesn't make me think he's got a knack for the intricacies of paperwork. People, however, can have unexpected talents. Be very careful about what he is and is not allowed access to, the books and manifests included."
I rolled my eyes. As if that bum could figure out anything from ship manifests or cargo lists.
….
Which is exactly what Eli is warning me about. I took his advice to heart before coughing.
"I'll make sure to tell Lokan as much." I agreed with a turn to the right, vast ocean and bright sun greeting me through the window.
"Of course, if they should suffer any health problems in the future, I won't refuse my services. As long as Penchen can be kept blind to their source. Possibly being an uncle isn't what I thought this call was going to be about, but it's nice to have some good news these days."
I eyebrows furrowed at the metal mesh Eli's voice was coming out of.
"You agree with all of this?" I asked incredulously.
"No, she's being a bit more….Free with things than I would advise. Certainly more than I'd ever want my daughters to be. But what's there to say? We're not going to turn her away if it goes bad, and if it works out and she proves the two of us wrong, what's there to complain about?"
"Penchen. No matter how it turns out, I'll always have some complaining about him at hand." I countered with a huff. "Shouldn't you as well? He could be adding more work to your load, what with health complications with enten's and this nephew he might have very well have brought into the world."
"He's a fellow male. The man convinced a woman to bear his child after a few days, possibly, and get him a good job on top. I'm afraid criticizing him would come across more as jealousy than sincerity."
My mouth fell open. I spent several seconds soundlessly working my mouth in exasperation.
"You, the quad mage. Ultimate quad mage. You would be jealous of that….What?" I sputtered into the radio. For the first time in days, my brain was running at full speed to parse the nonsense being forced upon it.
"That's not what I meant," Eli rebuffed, "Jealousy is what it would sound like to any guy listening. Because no man would listen to me telling him he's getting too much sex too easily, with perks on the side, and not think I was just being bitter. Now, if he abandons his family after, that's another story altogether."
I shook my head at the ocean waves outside the window. Thank god orcs became a female species. Fortunately, Eli had ventured into a better topic for me.
"If he does, I hope you don't mind me siccing Cell on him some dark night. Perhaps use his magic to get me a gold scale rug." I asked, trying to not sound too enthused.
"That can be one of his tasks. Since you'll be on the other side of an impenetrable expanse, without that boat or crew to watch your back, he'll have to stay on your person as a guardian. During my stay at Diamond Academy, I often passed him off as a piece of jewelry. Would you prefer gold or silver?"
Contrary to my expectation, there was no initial feeling of objection or even a hint of fussing over such generous protection. Perhaps that sickness had knocked more than air out of me and replaced it with something approaching wisdom. Taking a deep breath, I gave Eli a nod he couldn't see.
"Copper. I don't want any needless attention. Finished."
A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke again.
"You know, another aspect of male-ness is the desire to give our wives nice things. I suppose I can forgo such indulgence, seeing as how it might get you knifed by a thief."
"And it'll be easier to pay back, at least." I offered, trying to bite down a grim smile.
"You've paid me back plenty."
"Not enough. Healing and heating crafts are more than I could afford, even with the ship's trade. Offering you myself for the big toad's craft…. I don't know, maybe if I put a time limit for a month, I could make an offer for my body after."
Wait, didn't I already.....Memory suddenly pulled me back to the room under his house. After a meeting with Sally, I had a fit, a moment of weakness. I thought my mentioning the wet dream of him would be the worst part, until I remembered that I had already offered him the free use of me for saving the underground or some such. My teeth grit as I realized I was passing off a single payment twice.
"I just thought back to our meeting with Sally. Look, I know I've already offered myself before, so maybe if I work something out with the beastmen for coin or-"
A huff from the radio distracted me from the anguish clawing its way in.
"Gula, do you think making the woman I love happy isn't a reward?"
That was possibly the dumbest thing I'd ever heard.
The bloom of warmth in my chest didn't agree.
God, he really does love me. A buzz ran up my spine, along with it the same heady drug that ran my friend insane just days prior. We'd been married for months now, seen all our most private parts, yet that simple statement hit just as hard as it did the first time. I'm sorry for being so judgmental, Lokan. It's hard to remember how powerful this feeling is when it's not shooting through your veins.
Realizing that I was squirming in place, I pulled the chair up off the floor and set it to face out the window before sitting in it.
"I love you too, Eli," I offered, trying to not let the anguish of his distance come too clearly through.
"Same, obviously." He said in a tone that convinced me he was smiling. "A man's love also involves making sure his woman is safe. Cell can provide protection outside the Thousand Screams Toad's influence. Did you happen to find out why the toad picked us out of everyone else on the ocean?"
A smile came to my face as I leaned back into the chair, feeling contentment rolling over me.
"He saw the frojan were healing far quicker than they should, but couldn't figure out how. Letting us go the first time, bringing us in, and making this deal were all because healing mages are incredibly rare. The fat frog said being around one has distorted their numbers in my mind. I can't say he's wrong."
A small laugh came through the metal mesh.
"Oh, so he didn't even know what he was looking at the first time? That's…. Rather obvious, in hindsight. I think his diagnosis applies to both of us. I've had a lot of dealings with mages since I came to this world. The human psyche isn't good at proportions, I suppose."
I sat there trying to fight down a little hum working up my throat.
"And how is your time among the peasants going?" I asked.
Despite hearing him, some part of me still ached for his physical presence, to feel his touch. It couldn't have it, for now, at least. So, I was content to merely hear him. As he went into a lecture about sewer systems and open market regulations, I let the words roll over me. Not ignored, but more interested in feeling close to the man saying them than their meaning.
Looking out over the ocean, I felt tension previously unknown bleed out of my muscles. I didn't know how much longer I could enjoy this, so I made myself comfortable and let my husband retell his struggles for as long as he wanted to an audience of one orc, crashing waves, and a bright sun watching over both. Whether it be for an entire day or a few minutes, I settled in to enjoy every second of it.