Toki's Tale

"Why? Why now?" Toki asked, full of anger. "I'm only just starting to learn!"
"Because I don't want ye to be what I am!" Rel replied, spitting on the bare rock floor of the cave.
"Well I do! Don't protect me from the real world!"
"The real world?" Rel bellowed, quivering with rage. "Ye've never seen the real world! I've seen Norns butchered in their thousands by Darain! That's the 'real world'!"
"I don't care! If you won't train me, I'll find someone who will!"
Rel laughed bitterly. "Ye'll have to travel to the far reaches to find someone as good as me!"
Toki unfurled her wings and shot Rel a hurtful look.
"Then I will," she said, and launched out of the mouth of the cave. Rel started after her, but stopped. Behind him, a grey Norn stepped out of the shadows.
"Leave her. It is the right way." Fate said.
"But she'll just end up hurting herself..."
"She has to grow. Trust me."

Angry and resentful, Toki flung open the door to the bar. Thirty pairs of reptilian eyes glared at her, and the nearest Grendel got up from his seat and screamed at her.
"K'zrlk kzm klzk K'Z'K kra!"
Toki grabbed his arms and tore them off. The Grendel winced, then stood well away before a new one emerged from the bloody socket. Toki nodded respectfully and handed him his arms back. The Grendel nodded back, and then sat down to eat.
"I'm looking for a ship," Toki said aloud. "To the South."
"K'rlk krn nrkl k'z'k."
"Stop calling me that," growled Toki. "I am not a daemon!"
"K'zik'nrz? Krlknlknrazml rkln kkrllnkrm, krnkrl lkrn. Krlknlmaz?"
"Yes, I do speak Grendel. Now shut up and let me know where I can find a ship to the South." Toki snapped, "We can argue all day, tearing off each other's limbs, or you can tell me now!"
"Kr'lkn rkln nzk nlk nak 'corsair' lkn 'Norn' knlmrnlk," the Grendel at the bar said. "Knrlk nlk mrk mrlk," he added.
"Thank you, although you shouldn't say things like that."
"Nrlk nrkln mrkl nznmlk. Aazak!" Muttered one Grendel nearby.
"That is a little more than I wanted to hear," said Toki, and left. The Grendels laughed in their deep voices and went back to their drinking.

Grey skies shrouded grey stone, giving the docks a look of gloom. Boats of all sizes bobbed up and down in the choppy water, but Toki headed straight for one in particular. It was sleek and black, and seemed still in comparison to the other boats. The sails were black, as too were the ropes. It looked expensive. And black. Very, very black.
Standing next to the gangplank was a norn with black fur, wearing black robes that hid his face. He watched everyone around his boat with a cold, calculating gaze. He seemed to have a slight touch to his stance and his eyes that suggested he might have come from Toresc.
"You," he said, staring at Toki. She stepped back slightly into the shadows, worried. Did he know?
"Some damn reptile told me that someone was looking for a Southern ship," he continued, advancing. "Me and those green-skins aren't on best terms right now, so I can understand why the left the most important detail out..."
He had backed Toki into a shadowy alley away from the main docks. She flexed out her claws under her cloak, just in case.
"Please put those away," the shipmaster said, and tapped one of his fingers to get the message across. "I have no quarrel with any of your lot."
"How do you know..?"
"I... just know. Now follow me. You have a ship to catch."
Toki hesitated. She sheathed her claws and followed after him for a couple of steps, but then stopped.
"How much should I pay you?"
The black-clad Norn turned to face her, a look of puzzlement in his eyes.
"My dear child," he said, "did the scaly fiends not tell you about me?"
"They said you were a lying son of a-"
"Besides that."
"A stinking pile of-"
"Anything else? About what I do? Who I work for? My special friends?" The Norn asked, nodding vigourously. Toki shook her head. The Norn sighed and put an arm round her shoulder.
"Never mind," he muttered. "I'll explain it on the way."
As he led Toki out of the alley, he turned his head slightly. Sitting on an old barrel was a brown rat, staring at him with beady black eyes. It had a long scar running down one side of it's face. The Norn raised a finger to his lips. The rat nodded silently in response.
"Assassins!" It muttered after they had left. "Bunch of melodramatists."

Chapter 6

Chapter 8