As A Stranger Or A Friend?: The Swallow And The Drowned Sailor

Mariel - 13 Morning Star, 1246 A.D.

I clapped my hand over my mouth and held my breath as the wardens patrolled the cargo area. They came around what I gathered to be twice a day, though what times of day those were I couldn't say; there were no windows on this level of the ship. After they completed their rounds, I would stop time and pilfer a small amount of food from some nearby crates, then go to sleep. Luckily they had not been properly nailed shut, so I could reach what was inside easily, though I reminded myself not to be greedy. Based on the number of patrols I'd tracked, it had been nearly two weeks since I had stolen away on this ship. Even with the small amounts I'd been taking, it would soon be noticed that someone was stealing food. I just hoped that we would arrive before that happened.

I listened as the two men spoke among themselves calmly in their language, moving at their usual, leisurely pace. Most of the occupants of this ship were lizards and their slaves, so I hadn't heard a single word I could understand since boarding, but I supposed I would have to get accustomed to it. From what Axtapor told me, no one in the Holtep Empire spoke Common. In fact, it was rare for someone to. Even the slaves did not speak it, despite not being lizards themselves. They were forced to give up their native tongue to speak, read, and write their master's dialect, of which there were dozens.

His clan spoke Hamatian, of which he'd tried to teach me a few phrases, but it was nearly impossible for me to pronounce any of it successfully. It was harsh and grating, mostly populated with sounds made high in the mouth and low in the throat, and utilized the fork in their tongues to create hissing and whistle-like tones. It was a wonder to me how they spoke it, but he explained that it had something to do with the musculature of their necks. Perhaps when I saw him again, I would ask him to teach me some of it in earnest. Maybe one day we could even speak to one another in his mother tongue. Would that make him happy? I hoped it would.

The guards finished their rounds and departed at their lazy pace. I let out a small sigh of relief as I heard the door to this area close, then pulled out my map to scribble another tick mark down beside the shape of The Empire. I studied it then, imagining our route, and wondered how much longer it would take to arrive. Though, of course, my guesses were more musings than anything else. I had no idea how quickly a ship this size could move or if we were ahead or behind schedule. All I knew was that we would make landfall in the port city of Wixla because one of the sailors on the docks of Marinta repeated the name as passengers came to board.

Still, once I figured out where we would be making landfall, I was able to make my plan. Whether or not it was a good one was another matter, but there was no turning back now. I was determined to see him again, even if that meant confronting discomfort and danger, both of which there would surely be no shortage of on this journey. Reaching Ihama would be challenging, no matter how optimistic and hopeful I tried to be about it. According to him, it was tucked away behind the butte lands of Venya's Belt, a more remote region of the Holtep Empire. He'd told me many stories about its splendor and its famously known oases called icelakes. Apparently, they were still like mirrors, incredibly clear and cool to the touch but would eat away at flesh and bone if one stepped into them.

As deadly as it sounded, the region as a whole made me quite curious to see after hearing so many stories about it. It was just unfortunate that the trip from Wixla to there was several hundred miles long. Most traveled there in caravans aboard giant six-legged scaled creatures called ivishni to cover such a great distance, so going on foot as I'd planned to was admittedly foolish. Still, that did not deter me from it. I was going to make most of my progress at night, just as we did in The Deadlands, with the plan to stop time to stock up on supplies before beginning that arduous walk. While I was reasonably confident of my scheme, I was also nervous, as this time, I had the added challenge of not being able to be seen at all.

In these lands, I would likely be assumed to be a runaway slave and would probably be killed if I couldn't tell them who my masters were. Of course, I could say to them that my masters were the Oxlos, but there was no guarantee that would land me at his grandmother's estate. They would probably also find it suspicious that I could not speak Hamatian, so they likely wouldn't believe me if I told them they were my masters anyway. What if I was jailed and they found out who I was? Would they turn me over to The Pale Kings? It was certainly a possibility.

The reward for my capture was absurdly high, so high that it made me quite uncomfortable to think about, and definitely high enough to make handing me over to The Pale Kings a brainless decision. And that was to make no mention of any potential violence they might inflict upon me before any exchange could be made, given their general dislike of humans. I sighed. I couldn't let myself be discouraged like this, no matter how bleak the prospect of success might be. I gathered a small portion of food, ate, then curled up into a tight ball to sleep, hoping to find him in my dreams once more.

***

We sat together on our cabin's small porch, watching the sky and waiting to see the moon reach its apex. As it moved, I found myself smiling. Tonight was the first night we would get to sleep in our cabin as everything was finally ready. I was more than eager for it since it had begun to snow last week, making it nearly impossible to get any sleep in our humble tent. Even Axtapor complained about it, which surprised me since he was so hardy, but apparently, lizards couldn't withstand the cold that well. I suppose that's why they made their home in the desert.

"This is lovely." I said softly before leaning against his arm.

"Aye, it be." He responded, letting his head rest on mine.

We remained that way for several minutes, watching the moon in silence as it finally reached center stage. It was beautiful, but the cabin's warmth was more inviting than the sight of this celestial body.

"We should go inside. It's cold." I said, squeezing his arm gently.

"Aye, ey up." He helped me to my feet and led me by the hand, locking the door after we were safely inside.

"See that? A lockin' door." He declared proudly, locking it and unlocking it several times excitedly.

I laughed. "Yes, it's quite nice, but didn't you just buy the lock and install it?"

"Be hard business doin' somethin' as so. Nay be so simple." He continued with a frown as he grabbed me by the waist, pulling me towards him.

I put my arms around him and let out a small giggle. "Forgive me, then, for diminishing your accomplishments."

"Forgiven." He whispered with a smile, then kissed me softly, coaxing the tiniest of sighs from my throat.

As pleasant as this sensation was, we didn't linger in it for very long. I pulled him towards our room, being met with no resistance on his part, and once we were both there, I nervously turned to face him.

"Should you be rewarded?" I whispered softly.

"Rewarded?" He whispered back with a surprised look, "For what?"

I approached him and tugged at his coat gently, popping one of the buttons open. "F-For your efforts..."

He looked down at me for a moment, perhaps weighing what he should do next, then undid the top button of my dress gently, letting his hand linger there afterward. I let out a shallow breath and stroked his fingers with the lightest of touches. That small gesture began the shedding of clothes between the two of us until we were dressed down to just one layer each. He scooped me up, kissed me softly, and then carefully laid me on the bed. I made space for him beside me and placed my lips on his once again as he climbed in after me. Soon enough, we were tangled in one another, altogether deciding that clothes weren't necessary or wanted after all.