Ashsib and the Cat Beast

Chapter Eight

Namere had refused help, and lead the way, but she gave them the slip in the fortress. Between one turn and the next, she vanished. Right before a group of Peace Officers arrived, probably not coincidentally. Ashsib wanted to look for her, but he knew better than to try and force it under scrutiny. The officers didn't ask after Namere and Ashsib wanted to avoid lying to the subordinates. He, Vel, and Calder rushed back to their ship as fast as possible, exhausted and left with a lot of questions they only passed back and forth to one another.

The island was in turmoil. P.O. were rounding up citizens and travellers, making confused groups. The Mermaid sat alone, the other ships docked gone in the morning like they had planned to. Vel raised the gangplank behind them as they boarded.

"And where have you guys been?" Bretta demanded, "We were supposed to lift anchor hours ago and you didn't help with the delivery this morning."

"It's a long story." Vel grunted.

"Well, start explaining it!" Bretta crossed her arms.

Ashsib wakes in an unfamiliar place, the stone walls-

"In a way I can understand it!" Bretta interrupted.

"Calm down, Brett." The Captain emerged from below decks. Tall and muscular, he was as reliable as a Captain could be. Ashsib felt safe just to see he was under the man's care again. "Let the doctor tend to their wounds, can't you see Ashsib is just about dead from blood loss?"

Ashsib kept his hand held close, but the blood had soaked through the rag he'd tied around his palm and was dripping down his arm. He honestly didn't feel it anymore, not with worry eclipsing every synapse.

"Ashsib, Vel, Calder, welcome back." Their Captain said warmly, "We'll set sail while you clean up, but I do expect a proper explanation once we're in open water. Especially if you know why this island is swarming with P.O. but we're being ignored in the ship-to-ship searches."

"Aye, Captain." The three headed for the doctor's cabin double time.

Below decks, the trio silently endured the first aid. Ashsib didn't know what the other two were thinking, but he was seeing Namere crying. He couldn't believe he'd never see her again. She was probably dead somewhere already. She had given in too quickly and he hadn't questioned it. He'd been the only one close enough to see how empty those tired eyes were. Close enough to help.

The boat heaved. The Triand Mermaid was off to a different island. This was goodbye to Sedlily. The last twelve hours or so seemed almost like a dream. Only, it didn't grow vaguer the farther away it got as dreams do. Ashsib would see it whenever he closed his eyes for a while, the cat beast snarling with claws painted red.

Hand throbbing, Ashsib went to the largest part of the ship with dragging feet. The dark hold was still overfull, business was poor at small ports, let alone at places only a front for some black market people grinder.

As they waited on the Captain to arrive, Ashsib's eyes drooped, he was heavy and his nightclothes were ruined with blood. This was far from the worst day of his life, but it had made the list.

"Okay, we're asea." Quinn came around a line of double stacked wooden boxes, "I want to hear it. What happened?"

Under Captain Quinn's gaze Ashsib didn't know where to start. He looked at his bandaged hand.

"There are caves on the backside of that island." Vel said.

"What a weird way to start!" Calder remarked, "See, I found this bar-"

"Irrelevant!" Vel snapped.

"We were trapped in a cell." Ashsib begin over the two bickering, "There was a woman with us."

The words flowed out like a tide. It didn't take long until they reached that unsatisfying ending yet again. The regret even more bitter.

"We really didn't do anything." Vel shrugged.

"Just in the same cell as the one person who had business there." Calder slumped against the nearest wall, "I sure hope she's alright. I can't believe we lost her."

"Oh, I could use a drink, if you have one." Namere answered, "Otherwise, I'm okay at the moment."

"Of course we - Do?" Calder, and everyone else, jumped in surprise. The store room barely had space for them all bumping shoulders and craning necks.

"I don't like stowaways aboard my ship!" The Captain snarled, "Who spoke? Show yourself!"

"Captain, thats-" Ashsib began.

"Namere vanLanterrion, former Captain of the third Base Special Forces Peace Officers." Namere said from her position atop a stack of crates. Karihyou rested against one shoulder. As tired looking as ever, her shaggy hair a mess. "Now, Namere the deserter and stowaway, wayward soul."

"Come down from there." Quinn pointed to a spot before him, "I like to talk eye to eye."

Namere slid down to the floor. She'd gotten one of the Captain's shirts to cover herself with and she used her sword as a crutch to stand upright. Her and the Captain made a formidable pair, at the same height, gazing at one another evenly.

"Why have you stowed away on my ship?" The Captain asked.

"I meant today to be my last." She waved a limp hand at Ashsib, "He stopped me. I never wanted to be a Peace Officer, I'm not going to go back to them now. I'll work, and I think I'm owed at least a ride to my birth land after saving three of your crew."

"What if I don't figure as such?" The Captain asked.

"It is Ashsib I owe my life to." Namere jutted her chin, "You'd better ask his permission before you throw me overboard."

The Captain burst into a laugh, "You hear that, Ash? You've recruited us another pair of hands!"

"Ah, yeah?" Ashsib was slightly confused at this outcome.

"Where is your home, Namere vanLanterrion?" The Captain asked, all friendly now. He patted her on the shoulder until she winced.

"Lanrion, on the Island of Edyunnen." Namere responded, shifting Karihyou out of the Captain's reach. She'd cleaned the blade but not her own face, blood crusted her skin in peeling patches.

"Eh? That famous place?" Calder exclaimed, "Where legends begin and end? Is there a city called Lanrion there?"

"There is a village called so." Namere nodded, "Karihyou was forged there to defeat the Beast for the first king. I am last in the line of warriors who tamed that land. It's nice to meet you." She gave a small bow.

"Well, it'll probably be seven or eight months until we reach Edyunnen, if the weather and wind are on our side." The Captain pointed out, "I'm Quinn Carren, welcome to my ship, the Triand Mermaid." He held out his hand.

Namere shook it.

End of Part 1

By my reckoning, I wrote this somewhere in 2015 or 2016. I had this idea of Namere and Emishere fighting to the death seen from the prospective of some random person who stumbled in on it. Feverishly, I was just like, 'it'll be an interesting short thing.' Before I knew it, it was five sections long lol