Twin Spear; Twin Sword

IV

Duna walked with a new stride, the gifts she had been given renewing her with a unique pride in her actions. Having cast her outer clothing away to avoid smelling like goblin blood, she could feel the bugs eating at her skin and sweat. The forest felt as dauntless as ever, but she had held her own against a smilodon and walked away unscathed from a tribe of man eater goblins; wouldn't be called the weak daughter her father thought she was.

Perhaps I'll return. To show him I can survive alone. She thought, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. No. It wouldn't sway him. Either of them. Best to just find passage elsewhere...

Duna set her chin level and made her way quickly and quietly back the way she'd come, trekking down the river bank to reach the path she knew led to the gates. She arrived without incident, her heart racing with paranoia and bringing sweat to her skin. Glancing over her shoulder, she hailed to the gates.

Day guards peered down from atop the great wall, eyeing her with scrutiny just moments before realizing with shock who she was. Hastily, they threw the levers atop the wall, and Duna listened for the familiar boom as the gates shuddered open.

Dashing back into the paved ground of the port, she immediately sought cover. The word of her return would spread through the guard to her father, and she wanted to be gone long before it arrived at his ear. She wove through the bustling crowds, the dirt and grime on her skin enough to make many of the well-dressed merchants and shoppers stay out of her way for fear of soiling their clothes.

She slipped into a short alley, checking her peripherals before diving in the rear of a moving cart. She rode it to the docks, leaping into cover behind a stack of crates as port goers passed by. All around her, great ships loomed, tied off snugly to the docks, their sails tucked away tightly.

If I snuck home to get it, there's enough money to pay a fare. Or I could stowaway. But how do I know where they're headed?

Duna bit her lip, struggling to decide with herself. At once, her sharp ears twitched, picking up a heated conversation.

"I told you, I won't sail until tonight. No sooner, no later!" A man said, stomping past her. Duna dropped lower behind the crates, listening close. He was another northerner, white skinned and frail. "It is my boat, and I won't head for the Enclave until sunset, when the seas are not so choppy!"

The Enclave? Protector's Enclave in Neverwinter? Duna thought, furrowing her brows as she lay flat against the dock.

"You must leave sooner, this cargo may not hold without spoiling!" Another man protested. They walked alongside one another, bickering. The second man was twice his size, Chultan, and fiercely upset. His purple noble's robes indicated he was no foolish trader, but renowned enough to have earned such clothing.

"I said no! Your profit is not my concern!" The boat's owner replied. "A contract is a contract! I'll hear no more of this."

The merchant crossed his arms and stood firm staring down the smaller man with his milky brown eyes. "I tell you, it is unwise to waste my profit." he muttered threateningly, inclining his chin.

"Then pay someone else to haul your lot. I'm leaving tonight, and that's final." The owner said, leaving the merchant behind and climbing the ramp to his boat. The Chultan left the boat, muttering under his breath as he did so.

Duna pushed herself up and trotted across the dock when it was clear, careful not to be seen. Taking soft steps, she dashed up the ship's ramp, crouching down into the stairway below deck, and tucking herself away in the hold.

Where are the deckhands..?

Ever present, hunger clawed her belly, breaking her train of thought. She clutched her abdomen, cautiously using her spear to pry open crates, hoping that one of them would have something edible inside. After a few minutes, she cracked one that did.