Doctor Abbott

Untitled Part 21

"Nice to see you waited for me, human." Mâvis delighted in using Ben's nickname as he stepped into the boat and threw a few skins on the bottom. He placed Jocelyn on them with a bag of dried fruit. She immediately offered one of the apple slices to Ben's gagged mouth.

These boats were significantly larger than Ormr's, longer with more space to row. From what he heard the guards say, these boats were the only design that could navigate this water successfully. Again, the craftsmanship was just outstanding but this time being bound and gagged for the journey, they did not quite hold the appeal the first set did.

Several warriors loaded the boats with supplies and goods to be traded with the village they were sailing to. As they each took their seats to row, Mâvis crouched down to remove Ben's gag and prop him up against the railing, "This is a long trip, you might as well get comfortable." With that, Mâvis took his seat to row.

Jocelyn, now seeing the gag was gone from Ben's mouth, found the opportunity to again try stuffing his mouth with some apple slices. She giggled profoundly each time he spat one out. "Glad you find my predicament amusing, darling."

As they rowed into the night, the temperatures plummeted and Ben found himself freezing from the dampness and the rough seas. He looked down at the girl that was huddled into a ball on his lap. He struggled in his ropes to free himself. It was so dark he could not see if her skin was the proper color. Suspecting her damp garments we drawing as much heat away from her body as his were it occurred to him that he needed to get her warm. "Mâvis, your daughter. She needs you."

Mâvis rumbled back, "I have to row."

"I'll take your place, she is not well. She needs warmth right away." He struggled again to show he was serious and Mâvis pulled in the oar and crossed the boat. He turned Ben on his side and cut the ties before picking up Jocelyn. "She is as wet as I am, she needs body heat right away." Ben started pulling her arms out of her coat.

Mâvis brushed his hands off, "She will not warm up without clothing."

"You need to hold her to your chest and cover her. Her lips are blue already and we don't have time to waste. That's a very bad sign. If you trust me on nothing else trust me on this, sir." Ben covered the both of them with the furs and took Mâvis's seat at the ores.

He proceeded with a few attempts to get his oar in the water at the amusement of all the warriors. The pace was too fast and the waves fought back throwing the oar back into his face a few times. Reagan pulled in his own oar and shoved Ben further into his seat to help him get the rhythm going. "Not as easy as it looks, is it, human? Have fun, you will finish Mâvis's shift."

The guard abandoned Ben to his task and returned to his seat. Hours passed with the grueling exercise taking its toll. When they finally reached the beach he was exhausted and his lungs burned from the workout. He found himself stumbling across the rocks to collapse on the sand. The men unloaded the boats and poked at him with their spears as they passed, "Get up, human, we have work to do."

Mâvis had another idea in mind as he reached down and flipped him over, "Take her and start a fire. You may rest until the sun appears." He shoved his bundled daughter into Ben's chest and trotted off to help with the trade goods.

An hour later, the entire merchant party was gathered around a few beach fires drinking and laughing, mostly at Ben's expense. He ignored them and chewed on his wolf jerky while staring into the flames.

Mâvis pulled Ben's flask out of his satchel and tossed it to him. "You made it here did you not? Drink, morning will not be kind." Ben picked up the flask and stuffed it into his jacket before returning his concentration to the flames. He could now feel Mâvis's gaze turn icy and Ben steadied his breathing to avoid coming off as confrontational but it was too late. "Speak your mind, human."