We left the castle and sat waiting at the docks for Vance and her crew to return. It took Alexander longer to wake up than anticipated… and when he did wake up, he was very confused as to why we were all sat so casually at the docks. We had to explain the whole situation to him.
Alexander: “Just to clarify… the crazy flower spider has taken over this entire kingdom. And as long as we stay away and don’t interfere with her flowers, then she’ll stay here and not bother us?”
Dwynfel: “Effectively… yes.”
Alexander: “Then I really hope this bloody boat hurries up.”
Boff: “Are we sure she will stay true to her word? She did just massacre an entire kingdom.”
Damecus: “This kingdom burned down her forest. The massacre was not without provocation.”
Boff: “I do understand that, but does this not seem… a bit of a disproportionate response?”
Well, that’s the understatement of the century.
Damecus: “I did not say the response matched the provocation, simply that there was provocation.”
Boff: “Fair point, well made.”
Phoenix: “I would suggest that we make it known that this kingdom is now out of bounds. Further provocation would be… unwise.”
Flynn: “We may wish to make it illegal to enter. Otherwise, well, you know what adventurers are like. They hear of some mighty beast and they always wish to slay it for fame and fortune. Making entry here illegal should discourage most of them.”
Boff: “Not all of them.”
Alexander: “That’s true. Particularly those who had family in this place. They are going to be looking for revenge.”
Dwynfel: “They aren’t going to find any… if they come here, she’ll kill them.”
Boff: “Which will further anger people, causing more to come.”
Phoenix: “After enough die, people may grasp why coming here is ill-advised.”
I really hope that it doesn’t come to that. I’d like to think that after all the death that has already happened here, people will know well enough to stay away. But unfortunately, I think they are right… people will want revenge… and others will want the glory of destroying the unkillable monster.
Flora could have killed all of us at any point… if she chose to. We are only alive because she likes us… which is mainly due to Damecus. Nobody invading this place has any hope of surviving… not without some miracle on their side.
Flynn: “I think I see the boat pulling into the dock.”
Alexander: “Finally, the sooner we get away from here the better.”
Boff: “What of the young prince?”
Dwynfel: “What do you mean?”
Boff: “Well, what do we do with him? He’s still in that cocoon.”
Good question. All his family are dead. I suppose, what remains of his kingdom is on the other side of the sea.
Dwynfel: “We return him to his people. He’s their king now after all.”
Damecus: “No.”
Dwynfel: “What? Why?”
Damecus: “Were you not paying attention to what Flora said? The boy may be alive, but traces of her magic remain. His tendrils never disconnected, he will be corrupted in their eyes. People are fickle, and in situations like this, those in charge are usually blamed, regardless of whether the fault was theirs. Until we know how the people, and indeed the prince feels about this situation, it is best we keep those who know of his survival to a minimum.”
Alexander: “Will people not be suspicious of the large flower cocoon?”
Damecus: “I am a botanist, bringing back a plant to study, nothing more.”
Alexander: “Understood.”
As the boat began to get closer, I noticed Agaroth… who has been disturbingly quiet since we sorted through all the bones. Nothing normally bothers him… we’ve seen a lot together and he is normally always there with some ridiculously inappropriate comment to say. But not now… I wonder what he’s thinking about.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
The boat arrived next to us. After the gangplank had been lowered, Vance stepped off the ship to welcome us aboard.
Vance: “Hello there, chaps. Successful trip?”
Damecus brandished Alterius’ skull in her direction.
Damecus: “For me, yes.”
He walked past her and onto the ship… smiling to himself.
Vance: “Well, your friend is certainly cheerier than he was on our last voyage. Not get on with the dead fella I’m guessing?”
Dwynfel: “Bit of an understatement.”
Vance: “And how about the rest of you? Get what you came here for?”
Phoenix: “That is… debatable.”
Vance: “Oh well, can’t have everything. At least you’re all alive, although one of your knights seems to have a limp. Still, better than death, hop on. Less space for you than before I’m afraid. We’ve taken on a lot of cargo, which is good. People back home will be bloody starving without this stuff.”
The boat trip had a rather different atmosphere to our previous jaunt. Alexander was struggling to help with the ship’s tasks. He was told he didn’t have to, but he seems determined to be helpful… which is nice of him… but then he gets really frustrated when he needs to ask for help because his leg is still dodgy.
Agaroth is drunk in the cabin… again. However, not the happy drunk singing about tits like last time. More a sullen and depressed drunk. I did try to go down there and talk to him… but he just threw a flagon of ale at me and shouted at me to leave. I’ve never seen him like this… it is really concerning me.
Damecus on the other hand… seems like a different person. He has been sanding down and polishing that skull the whole trip… smiling… he’s actually smiling… not that Damecus has never smiled before… Tadwick is quite good at getting a smile out of him… but… normally the smiles are brief and his face swiftly returns to the stoic warrior face that I’m used to.
He just seems so happy at the moment. I know people always say that revenge won’t make you feel better… but I suppose it is more to do with your personal mentality… I know that Damecus didn’t personally do the killing himself, so I’m not sure if this counts as revenge… but the person he wanted dead is now dead… and it is like a weight has been lifted from him. I really hope that this happiness lasts.
When we reached the Old Uddin Port, there were hordes of people waiting at the dock. We ended up having to police the supplies being unloaded because there was almost a riot as people tried to grab what food they could. Which I absolutely understand… starving people will do these things… the problem is that doing that doesn’t lead to an even distribution, and the weaker members of the group end up with nothing, despite being the ones that need the food the most.
Once the supplies had been unloaded and distributed, Kiyui and Alexi made their way to us. Turns out that they had spent most of their time babysitting the rocking girl while her mother Cathy attempted to look for work. The girl is called Verity.
Kiyui: “Alexi here has been an absolute star. He has helped with cooking, he’s kept a look out for Verity, which has been very helpful, because she does have a tendency to run off. He's also been helping me distribute food among the other children. He’s just been absolutely amazing.”
Agaroth: “Where’s Cathy now?”
Alexi pointed at a building in the distance and Agaroth walked off towards it in a sullen manner.
Kiyui: “Is he alright?”
Phoenix: “I don’t believe so.”
Kiyui: “What happened.”
Dwynfel: “We are pretty sure Cathy’s husband is dead.”
Kiyui: “Oh, poor Cathy.”
Dwynfel: “He has delivered awful news like this many times before… it doesn’t normally get to him like this though.”
Phoenix: “I’m sure he has his reasons.”
Kiyui: “Anything we can do to help?”
Dwynfel: “I hope so… but I haven’t thought of how yet.”
Phoenix: “He will talk when he is ready. For now, load the cart.”
It shouldn’t take long to get back with the cart, especially as we shall be going straight home this time… no detours… no kidnappings… no slaver attacks. Just a nice peaceful ride home. With plenty of time to think about what the absolute fuck I’m going to do about Alexi… and the prince in the fucking cocoon… fuck… seriously… what the hell is even going to happen when he emerges from that thing? Oh gods… I hope he’s alright in there.
