Sparrow on a Plank Chapter 21: The Day Before the Morning After

Lord Ashigaru was amused. As he ate a leg of pork, he was reminded of the last operative that had given him news that was inaccurate. He knew that the item wasn't near some cannibal tribe; the last cannibal tribe on Jezreel had been “forcibly retired” almost a century ago; cannibals just don't work well with civilized society. The operative had been forced to help in the kitchen as punishment; Bubastos wasn't necessarily that civilized. The leg was delicious with a little brown gravy.

However, the next operative had been able to use her experience to find the correct book, and the correct information. It amused him that the artifact would be found just within a hundred miles of Coldport, where the Levitians had just suffered a major setback. It had been interesting to watch Prince Ta start sending out his operatives all over the world, hoping to obscure the actual operatives that would be finding the Stygian Edge. Once he knew the requirements for dealing with the guardian, it was just a matter of tracking the appropriate team. The respective party had finally stopped in Coldport, and were hiring a party to go the final few miles. The majority of their shleppers were in his employ, so at least that much was under his control; once the artifact had been secured, he could easily grab it from the “heroes.” He would have gone himself, except that it was, well, one of the few actually cold locations on Jezreel, and he didn't function too well in the cold, being mostly reptile and all.

He gnawed on the leg a bit more. Things were going good, but not good enough; he needed to double-check his plans to ensure success. He was up against the single scariest individual he had ever been up against, and there were still wildcards in play. He just had to eliminate them, and quickly.

* * * * *

That scariest individual was face down in a massage parlor. Prince Ta back was being kneaded and chopped, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. He was in a very relaxed state. His plots were starting to pay off, and he may just yet save the world from a dangerous artifact; at least it being used by a truly dangerous individual who was in turn being used a very nasty group. Sure, the Levitians had been dealt a major blow, but they would recover; they always did and it was beginning to annoy him.

The massage was starting to really get to him. In a few moments he wouldn't care about anything. He decided to leave the work at the office, and let the masseuse do her thing. He would crush the opposition. I bet they think they have the right book. After the massage, that is.

* * * * *

Going from Cyrill to Tigouslan was one of the longest trips you could make. Not only were they on opposite sides of the world, but the Spine of the World lay between them. The current ran from pole to pole, formed from the convergence of two major currents at the southern pole, and eventually forked into two other currents when it the north pole. The current went roughly straight for most of its run, with its twists and turns known to most that plied its waters, and there were no islands for its entire length. It averaged sixty miles across, becoming a thin ribbon of almost twenty miles with breakneck speeds in some spots to as wide as 150 miles in others. It was filled with the most powerful monsters, who had staked their territory and defended it against all comers. In some of its eddies could be found underwater villages of merman and other races, but the villages had to move constantly due to the changing currents. There were some areas protected against the current by various formations, and those villages thrived.

Although it shifted a little in its course every few months, it was the most powerful current on the planet, and a direct path across it was simply not possible. A fast ship was required to even negotiate it; a slow boat would lose too much time as the current would take it hundreds of miles out of its path, and through the territories of dozens of monsters. Even the most experienced sailors did their level best to avoid the Spine of the World, for unless you had experience traversing it, you would be in for a wild ride with a good chance of encountering something that they would prefer not to.

Captain Taylor knew the risks, and yet knew several paths across that were reasonably safe. He had been the cabin boy of captains that used the Spine in order to escape capture by bounty hunters; the bounty hunters usually balked at the Spine, even though they would have done well if they had followed the ships they were chasing. Ironically, the paths weren't safe due to the lack of monsters but because of them; they were otherwise ideal spots for monsters, with schools of fish tens of miles wide and kelp beds allowing plenty of hiding. The more intelligent monsters vied for those spots, and that created some very bloody competition. The monsters fought each other for the spots, and the winners usually laid low as they healed. All of that activity made chasing surface ships a generally bad idea, as the ships, even if they failed in protecting themselves, would still do a lot of damage to the attacking monster. So the ships were reasonably safe from attack. Still ships had been destroyed and the crews eaten, so “reasonably” was no guarantee.

He had been hired to bring his charges to Tigouslan, however, and so was forced to brave The Spine. He had carefully plotted out the paths he needed to cross, and had ensured that he would enter The Spine at the right spot. They should be in and out in a day's journey, but it would be a stressful trip in and out. The cannons would be as ready to go as they could be, and everyone with a ranged weapon would have it ready. He had instructed the ship's mages to prepare accordingly, and the life boats had been inspected in case they were needed. He didn't like having to cross it, but if he was going to cross it, he was going to do so prepared as he could be.

Tomorrow morning they would start the crossing. Tonight he would offer prayers to Poseidon.

* * * * *

Rick took his turn at the wheel just after sunset, relieving the navigator. An hour afterwards, Sal came up to him. She embraced him from behind, squeezing his broad shoulders, and then gently massaging them.

“You know that's distracting, right?”

“Yep. That's why I'm doing it, and you apparently need it. Your muscles are tight enough to crack stone.”

“With good reason. Have you looked at the betting pools for tomorrow?”

“I'm in several of them. I find it sort of funny that some are betting against us making it tomorrow.”

“Well, that would be the smart way to bet. Captain Taylor is good, one of the best, but even for him crossing The Spine is as much luck as skill.”

“I just want to know how they'll collect if they're right.”

“Someone always survives. They either get lucky and are simply ignored, or they are used as bait and escape. Some manage to escape thanks to magic, and others are snatched by some rescuer, sometimes for a worse fate. It's some sort of law, I guess.”

“Do you have a plan if things go....against you? Or do you plan to live forever?”

“Meh. It would get boring if you had to live forever. I just hope I make some sort of mark before I depart this life.”

“Let's hope you become a hero without dying, then.”

“No, I don't want to become a hero. Too many of them became a hero by dying, or when they became one, they may as well have died. Becoming a hero usually means that everyone knows you, expects more of you, and sometimes want more of you than you can give, and if you don't give it then they hate you forever. Give me enough to show I can do something, but not enough that someone actually cares about everything I do, so I can drop back into anonymity if I want to.”

“Interesting philosophy for someone who likes to be in the forefront.”

He smiled. “So I'm deep.”

She hugged him tighter. “There are worse things to be.”

He pulled her in front of him. She was facing the same way, she was just pressing against the wheel now instead of Rick. “Right now, I don't care about any of that. I will miss you when you're gone, but I can take what I can get for now.”

She leaned against the wheel. “Well, don't go missing me yet.” She turned around slowly, embracing him, her mouth moving closer to his ear so only he could hear. “No reason to miss me just yet.”

His body froze, not sure what to do. She slipped out of his arms, and walked back to her cabin with just enough wiggle to make it interesting to watch her leave. When she was out of sight he leaned against the wheel, smiling. He was really liking this particular voyage, and hoped it went on for a little longer.

[The last chapter is here.]