The Dragoness Queen

Chapter Six: Pirates on the Sea

A few days later, Relma liked their journey far better.

The seas beneath the vessel provided by Evren were serene and calm. They were reflecting the morning light. Against the reddish backdrop, it was like fire on the horizon. It was distantly burning on the mountain walls. The wind brought with it the scent of salt, and the air was cool beneath it. Relma had never seen the sea before, but Estela claimed it was far different in Escor. The waves crashed violently therey, and the water was cold, butit was wonderful hereul.

"Sea of Horses is so calm," said Relma, breathing in the fresh hair.

"Yes, well, the sea here is surrounded by mountains on every side," said Ajax, "so it's technically inland. Vrengar raised them up long ago to seal things off, though there are a few Sornian ports to the north.

"I have a map here if you want?"

And he drew it out and passed it to Relma. She took it and looked over it. It was a nice map of the nation, though the Sun Soul Empire didn't seem filled in. From the looks of things, there were several large islands off the coast of the Dragon Empire.

It was in a similar position to Estal. You could raid just about anywhere from it.

Judging from the location, the Dragon Empire had a huge advantage over Highwatch. Highwatch itself was in a mountainous peninsula leading into a hilly region. But the Conquista of Anoa could easily sail anywhere on the coast and raid. Or, if they wanted to raid the Sun Soul Empire, they could go downriver and raid along that. The river, Bryag's River, led into the Southmost Mountains and the sea beyond.

Of course, that left the question of where all the undead had come from. It seemed like the sort of thing someone would call upon as an escalation. It was a desperate act to keep a hostile power from taking everything over. Adrianeth had been called upon in Southern Gel Carn in a similar situation.

The Dusk Lands were a living testament to that kind of mass destruction. Relma was determined that wouldn't happen here. Not if she could stop it.

"Why is it called the sea of horses anyway?" asked Relma.

"Apparently," said Ajax. "The horses fled overseas to several islands. And the Gods let in the sea to block the pursuing Harlenorians."

"Where did you get this?" asked Relma.

"I stole it," said Ajax with a shrug.

"Ajax!" said Relma.

"What?" said Ajax. "We're technically at war with these people, and they hunt wolves."

"That doesn't mean we should be stealing from them," said Relma.

"Maybe not," said Ajax, "but it doesn't mean we can't."

"But I-" Relma gave up. They were probably miles and miles away from wherever he got this. She looked over to where Estela and Jomas were standing some ways off. Those two had been getting a lot closer. "Estela, Jomas, how are you doing?"

"I still have some aches from facing those we were grabbed by those undead," said Estela. "It still hurts."

"I'm fine," said Jomas.

Relma moved over to him and wondered if he was putting on a brave face, actually fine or unaware he was not fine. His expression didn't change much, always somber and contemplative. "Jomas, can I ask you something. Why did you flare up against Evren like that? It could have gotten us killed."

"He deserved to hear it," said Jomas.

"Yes, but it could have killed us all and caused our quest to fail," said Relma.