Duesr

Captain Gale sat silently in his cabin aboard the Century. He had not know failure in his life. The death of the Duchess was weighing upon him. He had been given a simple task, take the Duchess to Panganor and then make sure that she signed the treaty. A treaty that would bring lasting peace between the Kingdom of Balthair and the Republic of Panganor. The Duchess however was now dead. All hope was lost. The King, Waylan by rights, would be disappointed. He would not be callous or uncaring towards me, just disappointed. He had never wanted to disappoint the King. He was after all the one who had taken him from his father’s farm outside of Sharde and placed him in the Royal Navy. He thought back all those years ago and how his father had been so proud of him. The Farmer’s son who was now a Captain of a ship. This was to be his last voyage. A simple trip that he was to take before he was to retired back to the farm life. He could still smell the sweet harvest of the fall. His father grew wheat and vegetables in abundance. His father would take him out as a boy and show him how to plant.

“Take the seeds in your hand and gently let them fall out. Not too much, not too little. Not all of the seeds will grow, but we want to give each of them the chance.”

He had heeded these words and used this throughout his career. He would teach each of his sailors that it was not what he could for them, but rather what they could do for themselves. Each sailor took this trust in them as a personal responsibility and each of them responded with their best work. Captain Gale never had to micromanage his crews. He always knew that each man would give their best. That, of course, did not only apply to the men, but also to Sebastian. His first mate was an odd choice. He was not a native Balthairan, but a Canine. The choice turned out to be very wise.

The choice that he now faced through was different. The news that had been brought by Ioan was not an easy pill to swallow. The Duchess was now dead and Ailen, one of his other passengers, life was in danger. King Waylan would need to speak with him and perhaps send another to sign this deal. The choice that now sat in front of Captain Gale was hard. He needed to make one soon.

“Sebastian.” yelled Captain Gale.

“Bring me Ioan and Cassandra. I also need you to appear so that I may have your council.”

“Yes Captain.”

Sebastian summoned the two most recent members of the crew saying only that it was most urgent that they come. The three of them entered the room.

“My friends it is most troubling to me that we have now received news about the death of the Duchess. I am not certain exactly how you know this Ioan, but I trust you.”

“Thank you, My Lord. I speak only truth.”

“And you Milady, you have always been blunt. We are now faced with failure in our mission and this new gentleman says that Ailen is in grave danger. What should I do? Should I return the ship or should I go attempt to rescue the man?”

“I think that you should do both. The men can return the ship and we can go save Ailen. I am certain that you, Sebastian, and myself would be far more inconspicous then a crew of sailors even if they are pretty good privateer look-alikes.”

“ I could not agree more with you Cassandra. The crew will be able to sustain this ship and Second Mate Downey can take over the ships duties. Of course, that is assuming that Sebastian will be joining me.”

“I am your retainer.”replied Sebastian.

“I am also accompanying you. This world is unsafe for the likes of you and there will be blood spilled along the way. I would suggest that we sail to another port as Ferry has become very unfriendly at the moment.” said Ioan

“Where would you suggest that we dock?”

“My thoughts are that we should dock at Wavepoint. It is further south of here and no-one will be expecting us to arrive there. There is one catch however, the trip would take us a half day and then we would at best be able to get to where Ailen is located within two days. This would give us approximately twelve hours to find him and prevent the plot against him.”

“What is this plot that you speak of exactly and how do you know so much about it?” asked Cassandra

“I was sent here by an old friend of Ailens to assist you. An augury had been performed by a man named Rathamon who is an old friend. Some years ago Ailen, Myself, Rathamon, and a few others were members of an adventuring group. As is the usual with those groups we grew bored and eventually went our seperate ways. I have spent the last five years wandering the world. I promised myself that I would never allow myself to become so embroiled in a group again, but Ailen is different. He always understood me and for that I owe him a debt of gratitude. Rathamon came to me and said that he needed help with this, I gladly volunteered.”

“How then did you catch up with us?” asked Cassandra. Ioan stopped for a moment and removed his shirt. The others looked at him in astonishement. He had gills on his neck and and his torso was colored blue.

“Are you one of the Darbon?” asked the Captain.

“I am the last of the Darbon. There are none out there like myself. I have searched these many long years to find more of me and there is none. The island of my ancestors sank after the Red Dragons killed my people. They slaughtered them, leaving only me behind. I am the last.”

“We would be glad then to have you join us. Sebastian tell the men to set sail for Wavepoint.” said Captain Gale

“Where did you learn all of that wonderful magic that you used on the ship.” asked Cassandra

“I did not learn it, The Darbon each have unique gifts that when they die are passed to their heirs. When my people were all killed, I began to vomit uncontrollably. I felt sick to my stomach for months, until one day I woke up and felt this uncontrollable thirst. I wanted so much to drink, but no matter how much I drank I felt that I was always parched. It was then, after drinking all of the mugs of fresh water that I could find that I began to feel drawn to the water around me. I came to spot in the woods and there I began to manipulate the water. I would tell it to rush and it would, I would tell it to calm and it would. I had absorbed the knowledge of my people, including the magical knowledge. I am now able to control even the smallest drop of water by a mere thought.”

“Whoa, well then. That’s a long story.”

The journey to the town of Wavepoint took the exact amount of time that Ioan had told the Captain. As they sailed Captain Gale explained to his men the situation and how dire it had become. He wanted them to know that he was not abandoning them, but rather he had need to complete this quest that they were all now on. The men wanted to go with him, but as he explained the King would now need them more than ever. The Captain knew that there would be much evil in the world and that that evil would need to be defeated by every able bodied man. The group arrived at Wavepoint as the sun was setting and disembarked. The Captain had traded in his uniform for an odd looking hat and some dirty old rags. Sebastian had messed up his fur to appear unkempt. The group would need to be discreet. They got off the Century with almost no fan fare. The boat quickly disappeared from harbor and you could see the tears running down the face of the old Captain. Sebastian seemed to whimper a little. The group turned around and walked into town. Wavepoint was nothing like Ferry or Wayside. The locals were a little more gruff to say the least. The town had at one time been a fishing community, but then the Fordins happened to the place. A local merchant, Ferris Fordin, had started to buy up a lot of the local fisheries. After a short time he started to close them down, which to the rest of the fishermen was fine seeing as this allowed them to catch more fish and make more money. Fordin was not interested in fishing. He was, however, interested in fighting. Not just any kind of fighting, Canine fighting. It was illegal throughout the country but that did not stop the local underground fights from happening, especially after Fordin bought himself a seat in the Circle of Justice. He was able to choose the local sheriff at that point and he choose his dimwitted brother Franklin. Ferris made sure that Frankling was paid well enough to look the other way. The two men hired thugs to walk the streets and make sure that no one was causing problems. The Captain knew that they would need to get in and out of town quickly , otherwise they might get into some trouble. The group made quickly for a local barn that the Captain knew had rides in and out of town on a daily basis. Panganor had quite the reputation for its mass transportation. Large Carriages were pulled by several oxen back and forth throughout the land to major provinces. The Ox-cart were particular popular in more rural areas. Captain Gale walked up to the barn and asked when the next cart would be leaving.

“Tomorrow morning.” said the unpleasant woman at the counter.

“Great, now we are going to need to get rooms for the night.” sighed Cassandra.

“Where are we going to get rooms at this point?” asked Ioan

“We can get hotels near the taverns by the sea.”

“ We can sleep in the woods, I have several tents.” replied the Captain knowing that the taverns were the place where most of the illegal fights took place. He had noticed that Sebastian had been tense since they left the boat.

“I can take it, if you can.” replied Sebastian.

“Well then, I guess it is the tavern after all.”

The group walked back to the taverns where they saw something that maded everyone’s teeth grit. In cages alongside each of the taverns were cages filled with Canines. Each of them had what appeared to be crude gladiatorial weapons in their hands. Each of them looked with longing eyes at them as the passed by.

“Why do they fight if they know that they will only be killing their kinsmen?” asked Cassandra.

“ It is a cruel thing indeed, look around their necks. What you see there is called an obedience collar. When they enter the ring a magic user says a simple incantation and it reduces the to their base savagery. They become killing machines, bred for the entertainment of men. They call is sport, but I see no sport in any of it.”

“Hey there! Yelled a man at the top of his lungs. Captain Gale turned to see a fat man surrounded by a large group of men, all heavily armed. He reeked of alcohol and could barely stand. “Is that your dog?”

Sebastian tensed his fists ready to strike.

“ He is a free Canine.”

“Oh really, I did not know that they were free. Usually I have to pay a grand sum for them. I am Franklin Fordin. Pleased to meet all of you, especially you.” he said as he stumbled into Cassandra. Franklin spilled his drink all over her. Angrily she punched him in the nose breaking it. Franklin fell backwards onto the ground. The Men surrounding him pulled their spears and pressed them directly into the face of Cassandra. Captain Gale pulled his sword and Ioan pulled his hand back into a strike.

“Now, now gentlemen please everyone let us stop this before there is any bloodshed.” said a cool voice from the darkness. A slender man poked his head out of one of the finer taverns. He wore a tunic that was outlined in gold. The man was especially tall and bald. His nose, which was large, was pointed clearly into the air. “Can’t we all get along here?” he smirked.

“I am certain that my brother meant nothing by the accident. Did you Franklin?”

“None at all.” Franklin answered with a burp.

“My name is Ferris Fordin, Welcome to Wavepoint. You are standing outside of one of my Inns. The Flying Tiger. Isn’t that a glorious name for an Inn?” he smiled at the group.

“Now we can let this little incident be forgotten, can we not?”

“I think so.” Captain Gale replied.

“Excellent! Now we just need to have a collar for that beast.” he said pointing to Sebastian.

“He will do no such thing.” Captain Gale retorted.

“Oh, but he will my dear friend. You see in Wavepoint if you are a Canine who has been involved in assault you are to be collared at once and moved to the local prison. Clearly I am able to under my power forgive all of you, however I can do nothing for him. Lets not make a scene.”

“I will not stand for this.” Screamed Captain Gale. He unsheathed his sword. Sebastian removed the two sticks from his back and got into a crouched position. Ioan stepped in between the men.

“There must be an agreement that we can come to so that we do not have to send him to prison.” Ioan said. Ferris rubbed his chin at this and then grinned, all of his teeth bared. “He can fight!”