Jinx Unchained

Chapter Five

A chill wind ripped around Martin as he stood in the prow of the rickety sailboat that was slowly taking him towards Stillwater, but he paid it no heed. At least it wasn't raining, and it wasn't so much that he couldn't feel the wind hitting him, but the sensation of it being cold just no longer really held any meaning. It was a weird realization, but he decided to just accept it as it was, since he had rather more important things to worry about.

Stillwater's castle-like proportions were intimidating enough on their own, but then when he added the several hours of travel by boat, he could see how for normal criminals it was a very daunting prospect to be incarcerated there. The odds of escape seemed pretty darn small. He himself could escape any time he wanted to, of course, since he was pretty sure he could swim back to shore if necessary, but Jinx's life, as well as the lives of thousands of Zaunite citizens hung in the balance, bonded to his promise to actually not to try to escape. At least for the foreseeable future, it appeared as if Stillwater was going to be his home. He had to admit he wasn't really looking forward to it, if only from a boredom perspective.

"Is the weather always this shitty here?" one of the guards asked his companion beside him, yelling so he could be heard over the stormy winds.

"It's the rainy season, so pretty much most days of the week, yeah. Normally we don't sail prisoners out during this kind of weather, but the Council wanted him to be put up as soon as possible!" the other Enforcer shouted back.

"Sit down, sumprat," a third Enforcer growled at him. "If you go overboard because you're standing there like a fairy princess, we're the ones who'll get blamed for it, shit weather and you being an idiot notwithstanding."

"I'm fine where I am," Martin said curtly. Though the Enforcers didn't realize it, of course, he was in absolutely no danger of going overboard, despite the large waves and the rollicking motion of the boat. His muscle control and strength were such that the entire boat would have to capsize before he'd lose his footing.

"I said sit down!" the Enforcer growled as he got up. He was a bulky man, though from fat rather than muscle, and he was talled by a good five inches. He had a bushy, black beard that Martin could see still held little bits of breakfast—or last night's dinner—in it, and a giant unibrow that was constantly set into a deep scowl. Foodbeard put his hand on Martin's shoulder and pushed with not-inconsiderable strength.

Martin simply remained standing. Large as the man might be, he was still just a normal man, and Martin had ceased being normal ever since his father had decided to start injecting him with Shimmer, and then to turn him over to an amoral scientist who'd relished performing experiments on him. The Enforcer's strength would have to grow substantially before it became a worry.

Clearly Foodbeard wasn't used to his strength being insufficient, and he got a startled look to his face. He put his other hand on Martin's other shoulder and pushed with all his might. "Down I said!"

Martin simply looked away, ignoring the man. He knew it wasn't going to go over well, but tiny acts of defiance like this would likely be the only way he'd get to stick it to the damn Pilties for the foreseeable future, so he was going to enjoy them whenever he'd get a chance.

"I've got an unruly prisoner here!" Foodbeard yelled out to his five other companions in the boat. To a man, they all got up from their seats and drew batons, with one pulling what appeared to be a Hextech gun from a holster on his hip.

"Now, are you going to sit down, or do we just beat and stun you until you're a quivering wreck on the floor of this boat? Your choice!" the man hissed at him.

Martin sighed. Despite the fact his wrists were cuffed behind his back, he knew he could beat this bunch of thugs without any real effort, but then there went his bond. The last thing he was going to do was endanger Jinx, even though she'd not exactly treated him with any kindness the past few days, even going so far as to actually kill him. He still cared too much about her to risk her life, though he knew that whatever they once had was now gone.