oppositum [a (maybe) Nikolai Lantsov story] (currently being reviewed)

II

two days later
boat

The last two days had gone by in a flash for Nix. Even though her days consisted of watching the crew work and testing every possible position on the boat.

She soon learned that all the crew members were fjerdan. Well, almost all of them. Their accent was that of a native. The only person who seemed foreign was Sturmhond. He had quickly piqued her curiosity and she innocently asked the other sailors about him, but none of them could give her any information. This was not a permanent crew, all the sailors had applied to be Nix's future crew when she had to travel abroad for political reasons. Sturmhond had been specially pocketed by Koira apparently a few days before leaving, when she was in prison. The man was a good captain, serious and kind but very reserved about his private life.

After two days, she had learned nothing and Nix had decided to spend her afternoon asking a couple of questions and if nothing interesting came up, she would go directly to the person concerned.
So she approached the dean of the crew and sat down next to him, taking a fishing net and starting to inspect it, to look for possible broken threads, as he had taught her a day before.

"Hello Funis, it's a beautiful afternoon, don't you think?"
"Ideed, how are you Princess?"
"The best in the world, I'm back in great shape! And you?"
"If you are well, we are all well, so to answer you, I am perfectly well!"

Nix smiled at him with all her teeth then returned to her net. After about fifteen minutes, she couldn't help but ask Funis a question about Sturmhond.

"I had a question..."
"About Sturmhond?"

Nix suppressed a laugh.

"Well yes, that man is far too mysterious for me."

Funis shook his head, laughing softly.

"You are quite right Your Majesty. But don't get too fond of him, sailor's advice, we are not good companions for you, nor for any lady... Too much possibility of death."

Nix laid a hand on the shoulder of the man in front of her.

"Don't worry, I have no romantic interest, but don't devalue yourself like that! You are all wonderful people and deserve to be loved."
"You are too good to us Princess... But enough of the detour, what is your question?"
"Well... some of your comrades seemed just as eager to learn something about Sturmhond and I wondered if you have, even if it is rather shabby, to get him drunk to get information from him?"

Funis seemed hesitant to answer.

"As you said, it was shabby of us but I think most didn't see it that way."

He paused for a moment to take a deep breath, put down his work, and began to narrate under Nix's watchful eye.

"You see, it is traditional to drink when a crew is formed. To bond with each other. That night, the alcohol had flowed freely and many of us were drunk. Everyone began to tell their lives, their anecdotes. All except Sturmhond. Of course, like you now, his silence about his private life piqued the curiosity of many of us and, seeing that he was still on his first drink. I asked him why he didn't drink."
"And?"
"His answer was, that he didn't want to disperse the mystery around him. Slightly tipsy, I laughed in his face before joining other members of the crew."
"Is that all?"
"Yes Princess. No one learned anything that night."

Nix frowned.

"But haven't you thought about the possibility that he just doesn't like alcohol?"
"At first I did. But yesterday made me change my mind."

She raised a questioning eyebrow and Funis sighed.

"You were already in bed, but yesterday was a quiet evening and we had little to watch. So, some of us went out drinking. And we drank. All of us. Sturmhond even more than all of us. But nobody asked him any questions."
"So... your theory would be that he's absolutely trying not to give away any information about his life."
"Absolutely."

Nix sighed and picked up her net again.

"So it looks like I'm going to have to ask him myself to try to get some information.... Thanks anyway for helping me try to get some clarity!"
"It was my pleasure Princess."

Ni smiled at him then turned her attention back to her work.
Two hours passed and Nix had finished checking all the nets he had been assigned. She stood up, greeted Funis and with a determined step, went around the boat to find the reason for her questions. She went around the boat three times, searching even in the most incongruous places, but nothing. No one. Back on the deck, she grumbled to herself.

"He didn't fly away after all..."

A sailor who had been watching her for a while approached her.

"The captain is upstairs Majesty."

She looked at him puzzled and frowned.

"Upstairs?"

He pointed to the Crow's Nest where Sturmhond's silhouette could be seen.

"Ah. Okay."
"You want to go up?"
"If it's possible yes."

He judged her with his eyes and then gave her a small smile.

"With all due respect, if you go up without bandages, your hands will only slip with sweat and you'll be much more likely to fall."
"You have to climb the mast, right? I can't climb with the ropes?"
"You can. But the bandages are still mandatory. Your hands aren't used to it and will end up in bloody pieces if you climb barehanded."
"Okay... Could you go get me some please?"
"No problem your Highness."

While waiting for the youngster, Nix tightened her shoes so she wouldn't lose them on the way up and analyzed the mast and rope to find the best route to take.

"Here they are."
"Thank you."
"Are you sure you want to go up?"
"Perfectly. I want answers to my questions."

Nix carefully wrapped her hands with bandages until any skin that might have rubbed against the ropes had disappeared beneath the tape. With an air of determination, she began her climb. Slowly but surely, Nix climbed higher and higher, looking down at where her hands and feet rested, not looking down so as not to get dizzy. Despite her bandages, Nix could feel the bite of the rope on her skin, but nothing began to bleed. The higher she climbed, the more gusts of wind forced her to stop to bring her body closer to the rope and for it to stop moving.
She had only a few meters left before reaching Sturmhond. A sigh of relief escaped her and her grip became lighter on the rope. Unfortunately, a gust of wind struck at that very moment and Nix toppled over.
Her body fell backwards. Into the void.