| Kat, Clara, and Salem followed Barton up to the ship. Upon the deck was more activity; more of Hermione's deck hands were milling around, dragging this and that all back and forth. "Where is the captain?" Clara asked, looking about. Barton looked around. "I can't see her anywhere," he said. "I know she's here. I'll call to her. Captain Hermione! You have visitors on your ship." At that moment, a figure descended from a rope dangling from one of the masts. A young cat woman dressed in extravagant, yet somewhat gaudy, clothing swung down from the rope and landed upon the deck with a loud clap, generated from her thigh-high boots. She walked toward the group of people with an expressionless face. "Did you call me, Barton?" Hermione asked. "Who have you brought aboard my ship?" "These are three of our guardians, captain," Barton answered. "Kat, Clara, and Salem." "Ah, I've heard a lot about all of you," Hermione said, smiling. "How do you do? I am Hermione, captain of the Covenant." Hermione, a white pantheress, was certainly not the average captain, certainly not judging from her selection of attire. She dressed in a pair of black, leather thigh-high boots, which she wore tight to her slender legs, and loose above her knees. They had slightly elevated heels, making the young woman stand a little taller. On her hands were a pair of long gloves, almost identical to Kat's. Around her waist and chest were blue sashes, purposely designed to cover her privates and be decorative. The blue cloth was wrapped neatly around her waist and between her legs, its ends swinging freely between them, brushing against her knees. Around her chest, over her breasts, was another cloth, stretched tight for support and knotted securely behind her back, her breasts half visible. Around her neck was a small compass on a chain, and strapped to her right thigh, with a black leather garter, was an archaic-looking dagger. On her head was a black, wide-brimmed hat with a peacock feather banded to its left side with a brown cloth band. It almost seemed like the captain was dressed up like a showy pirate. She was very beautiful indeed, aged not greater than 28 or 29 years, and gazed upon the Guardians with her disturbingly-colored eyes; one was blue, the other green. "What have you come for?" Hermione asked, still not showing much emotion. "We have been sent by the king," Clara said. "He wishes for us to travel with you." "King Jervin sent you?" the captain asked, astounded. "Why do you travel?" "We are on a quest of S'Allumer," Kat answered. "We are off to find His sword." "The Sword of Many Parts?" Hermione asked, surprised. "You were sent to find and rebuild it?" "Of course," Salem answered. "And should we be successful, we will share it with all of Trillan." "I'm not going to ask another question," Hermione said, baffled. "You must come with me. I will protect all of you with my life, and so will my crew." The captain then turned to Barton. "Barton, you and the rest of the crew are doing a fine job. This ship looks as great as it did the first day we sailed." Hermione then walked to the middle of the deck and climbed atop a wooden crate. "My crew, hear me! Aboard the Covenant are three Guardians of great and glorious Trillan." Many crew members, young and old, of various species, stopped to listen to their captain speak. "They will travel with us all they wish, for they are on a quest of our Lord, S'Allumer. I demand that they be treated with the utmost respect and honor. Now, go and complete your assigned tasks, and we will be off soon." Hermione then stepped down from the box and reapproached Kat, Clara, Salem, and Barton. "Barton," she began, "show our guests to their quarters. They are our guests of honor aboard my ship." "At once, captain," Barton said, smiling. "Come along, please, Guardians." Barton led the group of adventuring Guardians into the sleeping quarters of the ship. The beds were small and rather low to the floor, but Barton insisted he had given them the best of the lot. "Here, just beneath the deck," Barton said, "you shall stay. And if you should have any requests, do not hesitate to ask me or Captain Hermione." "Surely," Kat said. Just then, Hermione came down the stairs into the lodging space, her boots making a staccato on the woodwork. She removed her extroverted hat and held it in her left hand. "Feel free to make yourselves at home, by all means," the captain said. She then turned to Barton once more. "Barton, if you would, please, excuse yourself for the time being; I'd like to have a word with our guests." "Absolutely, captain," he said, smiling. "I'll go tend to the crew and make sure everything is in order for our trip." He then climbed the stairs to the deck and the sunlight above. Hermione turned back to the Guardians. "Now, then, Guardians," she said. "Clearly, you have undertaken a dangerous journey. Many people may be after you because of what you possess at the moment." "We have, in fact," Clara said. "We have come close to death in only our few days of travel." "I see," Hermione said, stroking her chin. "Well, then, I cannot risk your lives, much less my own, or those of Barton and the rest of my crew. Therefore, I request that we all lock away your valued possessions. Follow me." Kat, Clara, and Salem followed Hermione back to the deck and onward into her quarters. Inside was a small bed and a closet, as well as a map and a compass on a desk. Tucked away in a corner of the room was a moderately-sized chest. It seemed to possess a complicated security system composed of a combination lock of ancient Calabrian symbols. "It is here that I keep a great deal of valuables," Hermione said, putting her hat upon her desk, then kneeling down in front of the chest. "To this day, I am the only one who knows how to open the lock. Please look away." Kat, Clara, and Salem looked away and covered their eyes as Hermione fiddled with the lock to her chest. A few seconds later, the lock opened with a satisfying click; Hermione lifted the lid. "You may turn around now," the captain said, scrambling the symbol dials on the lock. All looked into the chest, down upon the many pieces of Hermione's jewelry and other personal items, such as a crystal pendant and some other fancy rings. "Whatever you possess, place it inside this chest," Hermione said. "I will make sure that no one will see whatever you have. When we arrive to wherever you wish, you may recollect your belongings." With no further choices, Kat, Clara, and Salem quickly removed all parts of the sword from the cloth bag, as well as the history book. Into the chest went the crystal hilt and the first half of the blade, as well as the history book. But Clara was reluctant to part with the green orb. "Why won't you put it inside the chest?" Hermione asked. "It is not likely to be stolen otherwise." "I cannot," Clara said. "It possesses great power, and may save us from the hands of death." "The orb may be able to preserve life, Clara," Kat said, "but you should listen to the captain. If it should become damaged, it will be irreparably tainted." "I saved your life with this orb!" Clara cried, shielding it from Kat. "Do not let me let go of it." Hermione spoke up. "You know," she said, "it's not right for you to fight this way. You are well protected on my ship. We are guided by the undying light of S'Allumer; we shall not be harmed by anything aboard this ship." "Please listen to her, Clara," Kat pleaded. "You must," Salem added. "She is a great mariner; she will guide us safely." Clara sighed loudly, out of patience. "All right, very well!" she groaned, holding out her hand. "Here is the orb. But do not let it get away from you, and do not let it get scratched." Next page >> |