The Mountain King

Chapter 6

The ship made its way slowly out of the harbour and began its journey down the river. Aleya stood at the railing and watched the town go by for a moment. Marco had followed Elaine straight to her cabin, a cheerful argument bouncing between them, leaving Aleya and Damien to the company of the crew. Thankfully, the men on board – there were no other women in the crew, Aleya noted, Elaine was the sole female aboard – were preoccupied with preparing the ship for the voyage, and no one bothered with the two newcomers. Now Aleya stood alone. Damien was undoubtedly somewhere on the ship, but she hadn't seen him since he'd disappeared from Aleya's sights as soon as they were finished talking to Elaine.

Aleya toyed with her medallion. Boren would have been bouncing with excitement as the new town passed them and the ship headed down the river. He always wanted to travel, to leave Riverwell and go to the city. Now Aleya hated herself for wishing he would always stay with her. Now he would never see Havendell.

Lost in thought, she jumped when a hand lightly touched her shoulder. The crewman who had startled her seemed apologetic but informed her that the captain had asked to see her. Aleya looked around for a moment.

"Just me?" She asked.

The crewman nodded, and Aleya hesitantly followed him, examining the large eye tattoo of the back of his bald head. He lead her to the doors that sat slightly slanted between the stairs that lead to the upper deck. He pulled back on the handles and invited Aleya through, holding the doors open for her.

The inside of the cabin was rustic, completely wooden, like the rest of the ship, but decorated in gold and black paint. Red tablecloth covered the desk, maps and other papers spread out over it. Elaine stood with her hands on either side of one of the papers, her head bent down to read the tiny script. There was a delicate pipe on a small stand beside her, a curl of smoke rising from the bowl. There was a faint but sweet scent filling the room, Aleya guessed it came from the pipe. When Aleya entered, Elaine looked up and nodded to the crewman behind her. He closed the door, giving them privacy to speak.

Elaine stepped around the table and stood in front of it, leaning against it casually. Aleya spotted Marco lounging in an armchair in a corner, a glass of something dark in his hand. He smiled at her. She returned the smile hesitantly but looked back to Elaine when she spoke.

"Marco tells me you met him in Duriorn," she raised an eyebrow at him before turning her head back to face Aleya, "what brought you there?"

So that was the town they had stopped in, Duriorn. Aleya had been too distracted to take note of where they were travelling. Aleya's eyes flicked to Marco quickly, considering his relaxed posture. His eyes though, there was something there, as if he were waiting, equally curious to know why they had arrived in town. Aleya looked back to Elaine, trying to think what explanation would be easiest to give. She could guess how much Elaine would like hearing that two strangers running from a crazed magical arsonist from a make-believe settlement in Vyrundi lands were using her ship to flee to the East. Aleya hardly believed it herself, though she wasn't about to put Damien's story to the test by trying to travel back on her own. She hadn't seen any sign of this 'Pyrus' he spoke of, was he even real? Had someone else set the fire on the farmhouse? Had Damien? Again she reminded herself that Damien had done nothing to harm her, making it hard to believe he was responsible. But did she really feel safe with him? Now was her chance to get away from him, perhaps she could tell Elaine he was dangerous and make the rest of the way to Silaeria on her own... She quickly pushed that thought away. She may not trust Damien, but without him, she might have burned to death along with her family.

"We came from Fernrove, we were travelled through the woods when we stopped in Duriorn on our way to the harbour." Aleya explained, deciding on the bare minimum. Once again, Aleya wondered where Damien was. Though, she doubted his overly severe countenance would help in this situation. Elaine waited for more, perhaps wondering why they were heading East. When Aleya didn't continue and looked at her clasped hands nervously under Elaine's heavy gaze, Elaine shrugged and reached for the decanter on the side of the desk that was weighing down a pile of papers. Inside it, the dark purple liquid, the same in the glass from which Marco sipped, swirled as she lifted it and poured another glass.