SOMETHING COLD AND
wet slapped into Nori’s face. His body became rigid, and he shot upright in his hammock. Water dripped from his chin and hair, and his skin still held a slight chill, as opposed to the delightful warmth he had before.
Apisa stood beside him with an empty bucket. A smug smirk spread between her cheeks.
“About time you woke up,” Apisa said. “I was starting to get worried. I’ve been shaking you for about five minutes.”
Nori wiped some of the moisture from his face and eased himself out of the hammock. “Is everything okay? Is there any danger?”
Apisa said, “I’m fine. I’m just glad you’re okay. Like I said, I’ve been trying to wake you up for about five minutes. I was starting to think you were dead. Get up. The captain wishes to see us in her chambers.”
Nori stood up and stretched his limbs. His joints popped in various places. Once more, the critical stare returned to the Apisa’s face.
“Are you feeling better? Did you have any more dreams about your home?” Apisa asked.
Nori rubbed his face with both hands. Another yawn escaped him. “Yeah, I had another one last night. It’s okay, Luxi gave me something that helped me sleep last night.”
“Luxi?” Apisa asked. “You mean the captain?” She winced for a moment and averted her eyes. “That’s …rather nice of her. Well, is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”
Nori reached down and grabbed his second sack. “Actually, can you help me into my armor? I think I’m going to need this if we’re going to be facing Kappas and pirates.”
Apisa’s eyes lit up, and she set the bucket off to the side.
Nori pulled out the breastplate and put it onto his massive torso. Before he could start lacing up the ties on the side, Apisa moved beside him and started working with them using her nimbler fingers.
“So…” Nori said. “How was your sleep last night? You aren’t getting river sick, are you?”
Apisa concentrated on looping the leather cords through the right holes, but she spoke as she studied her work. “I slept better than a baby hog after a good feeding session. I have to admit, riding on the river is kinda relaxing. Like I said before, I’m sorry that you had your nightmare again.”
Nori said, “It wasn’t your fault. I guess we’d better hurry before Captain Alfana gets upset.”
Apisa’s face contorted slightly, but she didn’t say anything else. She helped him tie the strings for his gauntlets and grieves. When Nori was fully dressed, Apisa took a step back and inspected him with the same tenacity that a drill sergeant might.
Apisa smiled. “My granny always said she liked a man in uniform. I never understood what she meant until now. You look great. If I wasn’t your friend, I’d be kinda unsettled by you. I wouldn’t want to be having to fight you, that’s for sure.”
Nori’s stomach growled. He hefted his tetsubo on his shoulder, and started moving toward the hallway. “I’m kind of hungry. Do we have time to grab a bite to eat?”
Apisa crossed her arms over her chest as she walked beside him. “Captain ‘Luxi’ wanted to see us all once you got up. Tell you what; you head up to the captain’s quarters while I get you something to snack on?”
His stomach rumbled loudly again. “Thanks a lot. That’s really nice of you.”
Apisa gently nudged him with her shoulder. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
They walked out of the sleeping chamber, down the corridor, and into the mess hall. Apisa moved up to where some of the food was, but she glanced back to Nori before she did. He gazed into her eyes, and his innards pulsated. Butterflies flapped wildly within him, but he dismissed the peculiar sensation for now. Rather than leave her behind, Nori lingered in the mess hall and watched Apisa with growing interest.
She quickly grabbed several things, and then moved back toward the mess hall doorway. When she noticed him still there, she increased her pace.
“If you were going to stay, you could have gotten your own food,” Apisa said. She passed him the small bowl of items, but kept pace with him as they moved up the stairs.
Nori delved into the small bowl of fruit and meats. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Apisa watched him. She kept her hands at her sides, but her fingers drummed against her body. She appeared to inspect him intently. Nori raised the bowl up to her.
“No, I’m good.” Apisa rubbed her stomach. “I had some breakfast already. In fact, we’ve all been waiting for you for about an hour. We drew straws to see who would come and wake you. I won!”
Nori stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth. After he swallowed it, he peered over at her. “You won? I thought the person who got the shortest straw had to do the thing no one else wanted to do.”
Apisa said “I guess I played the game differently.”
“I noticed that you and Flara disappeared after dinner yesterday.” Nori licked his lips to get rid of some of the excess fruit juice. “Did Flara go back to reading more of the scrolls?”
She nodded. “That girl’s obsessed, plain and simple. Granted, I can understand why, but she’s determined to learn all she can. Thank Saito we have her on our side.”
Nori stopped eating. “Did she learn anything else about the Celestial Ones?”
Apisa let her gaze drop to the wooden planks of the floor. “No, she didn’t say much last night or this morning. I wish there was more I could do to help her. I’m not as studious as her or Rayko.”
Nori let out a little chuckle. “At least you’re a mage like they are. You know some magic. How do you think I feel? Until enemies present themselves, I’m little more than a porter with a large club.”
Apisa nudged him with her shoulder and beamed at him. “If going through that forest has taught me anything, we’re going to have enemies present themselves soon enough. My granny always used to tell me, ‘when there’s nothing to do, then you prepare for when there is’. I don’t know much about bodyguard or warrior stuff, but is there anything you can do to keep your skills sharp?”
Nori said, “Yeah, there are some things I can do.” His brows inched a little closer together. “Was there a reason that your granny said that so much?”
Apisa held her hands behind her back. “She didn’t want me to get rusty during the winter when there wasn’t any farming to do. She had me practice pulling large rocks in a cart so I could build up my strength. My granny was funny like that.”
Nori and Apisa walked into Luxi’s quarters. Luxi, Flara, and Rayko sat around a large round table. Flara had a single scroll out in front of her, and she greedily scanned its passages. Rayko held out her fingers spread out. Every now and then, she waved her hands lightly. A small purple bottle sat in front of her, and her finger nails were purple too.
Luxi sat hunched over, a bored expression painted on her face.
Rayko had noticed them first. “Well there he is! It’s so nice for you to grace us with your presence.” She paused and regarded him with a critical eye. “My word, you look absolutely …impressive. I didn’t expect that at all.”
Flara briefly looked up before she started to roll her scroll up. Her lips pressed together, and she brought her elbows close to her ribs.
“Good morning, Nori,” Flara said meekly.
Luxi gazed up at him and donned a large smile. “You look well rested, and even a little more intimidating too. I see the whisky did its job. I’m glad. Whisky always helps me sleep.”
“Whisky?” Rayko asked. “What is she talking about?”
Apisa turned a curious glance over on him. Her bottom lip quivered for a second. “So that’s what the captain gave you, huh? Are you two drinking buddies now?”
Luxi propped herself up and studied Apisa for a moment. “And if we are? Nori and I had a heart to heart.”
Apisa took a seat next to Rayko. “That’s wonderful to hear. Nori needs to open up to more people. So, you wanted to see us?”
Rayko and Flara looked over at one another, and then they focused on Apisa.
Nori slowly sat down between Apisa and Luxi. “Am I missing something? I’m a little confused.” He leaned his tetsubo against the wall.
Luxi leaned back in her chair and grabbed a larger roll of parchment nestled on a shelf. She unrolled it and flattened it with her hand. “She’s right. I did need to discuss something with you.”
A map of Korrine stretched across the table. Luxi’s slender finger traced along the thin blue line that trailed across the map. “This is the river, obviously.” She pointed to a spot on the line. “At the moment, we’re here. We should reach Nagasi in about a day. We’ll stop there for the night if you don’t have any objections. It would be nice to get provisions before we try and make it through the mountains.”
Flara reviewed the map. “I don’t have any objections. I see that there is a long distance between Cao Xi and Nagasi. What’s this city here?” She pointed to the small city indicator in the midst of the mountains. “I’m not familiar with a safe spot between the two cities.” Her eyes went wider for a second. “Oh dear… that’s Gohoda, isn’t it?”
Luxi nodded. “We’re not going to Gohoda, but we’re sailing past it. Anyway, we have two major problems on this trip. Anyone want to try and guess what they are?”
“The Kappas and pirates, right?” Rayko asked. “I’m not too concerned about pirates. We can more than handle any brigands that come out way. It’s the Kappas I’m scared of.”
Luxi placed her head in her hand and gave Rayko a hard stare. “Have you ever gone up against pirates? Do you have any idea what you’re talking about?”
Rayko leaned forward, but made sure not to touch her nails on anything. “Your attitude is stifling. I don’t know what caused you to show me such disrespect, but I’m going to demand you stop it. And just for your information, not only have we dealt with pirates and criminals, but we’ve handled far worse things than that. Have you ever tangled with a Tsuchigumo? Or tangled with shadow kami?” she turned an eye on Flara. “What were those things called again?”
Flara wilted a little. “Um- umbarqui.”
“Yes!” Rayko said. “We withstood against a bunch of umumbarqui! Have you ever done anything like that?”
“Um… Rayko, I think…” Apisa said.
Rayko sat back in her chair. “No, I want to hear this. Obviously, this uncouth excuse for a lady seeks to try and make me look like a fool. It is unappreciated.”
Luxi rolled her eyes. “I’m not the one making myself look like a fool. You’re doing that yourself, you self-absorbed, pretentious gold digger.”
Rayko gasped. “You skeezy, river rat harlot. How dare you besmirch my honor and indicate I would simply chase a person for their wealth. You know nothing about me, but you started judging me the moment you met me.”
“You tried to deceive me on my ship! Besides, I’ve met a hundred women just like you. You’re all the same.” Luxi counted on her fingers. “You and women like you are selfish, shallow, and you only care about your status in the eyes of other people in your social circles. Anyone who doesn’t meet your standard of acceptance gets treated like servants or street urchins. You’re pathetic!”
Rayko opened her mouth to retort but Nori slapped his hand against the table. A loud smack thundered throughout the room. Everyone jumped and peered at Nori as if he grew three heads.
“Enough! We have larger issues at hand here,” Nori said. “The last thing we need is for you to be squabbling. I mean no disrespect to either of you, but shut the hell up! Now if you two are done being ridiculous, I have a question for Captain Alfana.”
No one said anything, but they all watched Nori with growing anticipation. Did they expect more from him? He shifted a little in his seat, but kept his shoulders and chest high. After nearly half a minute, the captain broke the silence.
Luxi chuckled. “I like a man who knows how to take charge every once and a while. Not all the time though. Men need to learn their place.”
Flara cleared her throat. “S-so you have a question then?”
“You’re crewman Raoi said you and the pirates had a little trick for handling the Kappas. What is it?” Nori asked.
“Oh, that…” Luxi winced. “I know of a way to kill a Kappa, but doing so will only enrage the other Kappas around it. They become more feral and dangerous.”
Flara leaned forward a little. “I d-don’t want to kill a Kappa if we can help it. It’s not their fault they’re so confused and angry. Is there any way we can deal with them without taking their lives?”
Luxi said, “Not really. Their scales and shells are so damned hard that weapons usually don’t work against them. They have claws and sharp beaks, and they’re more than happy to rip bits of a person off. There only weakness is the leafy bowl on top of their heads.”
“Their leafy bowls?” Apisa asked. “I’ve never seen a Kappa before.”
Rayko’s tattoo flashed and suddenly a small creature appeared right beside Luxi. It had a small shell, a turtle like face and beak, and a small leafy bowl on the top of its head. The creature stood upright on two legs, and two stubby arms hung down. Its hands were in the forms of claws, and its fingers were webbed.
Luxi turned to look at it and screamed. She fell back in her chair and scrambled to get to her feet.
The illusionist snickered behind one of her still drying hands. A moment later, the Kappa started moving toward Luxi. The captain drew her sword and slashed at the Kappa’s leafy bowl. A look of horror grew on Luxi’s face as the blade passed right through the creature.
Apisa smirked too, but Flara placed a hand on Rayko’s shoulder. “Come on. You’re being mean right now.”
Rayko rolled her eyes. “Fine. I suppose I am.” Her tattoo stopped glowing, and the Kappa disappeared.
Luxi just stared at the open space, but then she pointed the blade at Rayko’s face. “That was you?! You posh little…”
Nori placed a hand on the tip of the sword. “I’m sorry for her momentary foolishness. The creature she showed us doesn’t look so frightening. I could probably pick one of them up.”
Luxi looked across the table. “Bring up that image again, you silk-clad weasel. Modify it as I describe it.”
Rayko’s eyes grew harder, but her tattoo flashed again. The image of the Kappa returned, looking just as harmless as it did before.
Luxi pointed to where its webbed hands hung at its side. “Make the claws a little larger and sharper, almost like a tiger or hawk. And then give it a crazed look in the eye. Not only that, but make the muscles a little bigger.”