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MillionNovel > Epitaph: The Journey > Chapter 8

Chapter 8

    “Do you guys think I’m worthy of this?” I asked. What am I doing? I should just hand it over and stop all this. But I already said it. I can’t take it back. Why did I say that?


    “I’d rather Croí have it than William. He just attacked Keokin, so I’m not seeing the protective instinct there.” Leola said.


    “Yea! I agree with Leola. William isn’t a team player. Besides, I just don’t like him.” Sable chimed in. Jael looked at them, then at me, and sighed.


    “I wouldn’t.” Jael said. Arms folded. “I absolutely hate saying it, given that he’s a pig and a sexist arse, but I agree with William on this. Not for his ridiculous reasons, but because if I saw some big monster charging us down, from what I’ve seen of you so far, I don’t trust that you would stand and fight, or win if you did. I’m not saying this to be rude, like this gobshite.” She glared at William. “I’m trying to be logical about this. I don’t want you to get yourself killed, and I don’t want anyone else to be at risk, if we can help it.”


    “I disagree.” This came from Flint. “I think he would fight, and I think he would do well. He’s probably very quick, which to me is all that counts where we’re going. You heard Edorin. No matter how strong William is, if he ‘stands his ground’ against that giant spider or those ants, he’s a dead man. If he’s quick and has a healthy dose of fear, he might stand a chance.” Klintock, Sable and Keokin all nodded in agreement.


    “What about you two?” Keokin motioned to Céírde and Lánn. Lánn leaned back in her seat with her hands raised.


    “I don’t want any part in this. Edorin said to stay as we were, so I’m leaving it there.”


    “So, you are for him keeping his pack then.” Céírde said, emphasizing ‘are’. “I for one, am undecided. On the one hand, William seems to be able, though his hot-headed nature may prove detrimental. Croí seems potentially able, but skittish by nature. I can’t say I prefer one to the other.” William slammed on the table.


    “You have to pick one! You can’t just stay on the fence! And you can’t seriously tell me you want this skittish moaning pup to be the only thing standing between you and the horrors of the Island!”


    “Actually, it’s my job to stay neutral but offer some mild insights that I have observed. I’m the Assist. Also, ‘horrors?’ I thought the Island was no big deal to you, just another fight.” Céírde said, nearly emotionless except for a small crease above the left side of her mouth. Lánn just shook her head.


    “I… I have no idea. I don’t wan… I don’t really know either of you, and I don’t want to be a tiebreaker that one side or the other yells at later. I can’t choose one now only to have them end up running away at the first sign of danger, or stand their ground and die because of my vote, I can’t pick.”


    “Well, that decides it then.” Keokin started but was interrupted by William.


    “The feck it does! By my count, that’s me and Jael against you, Sable, Klintock, Flint, and Leola but there’s still three of us undecided including Croí. So, the only way I’ll be satisfied is with a tie breaker, or if these three neutral slacks pull their thumbs out their arses and pick a side.” Jael put her hands on her temples and groaned with frustration, shaking her head. Keokin sighed.


    “Let me guess, by tiebreaker you mean a fistfight.” Keokin said folding his arms.


    “You got that right! Now, are you three going to pipe up? Or are we gonna settle this like it should’ve been settled from the start?!” Again, William pounded on the table to emphasize his point.


    Céírde and Lánn looked at each other, and I remembered what Kixas had told me. ‘You are a fierce protector. I’ve seen it in you when you would watch over your nieces and nephew.’ Well, that makes up my mind. I must remain true to myself. Or at least the me that Kixas knows.


    “I want the pack.” I said, grabbing it off the table and slipping it over my head to rest on my shoulder. Céírde gave a small smile.


    “Well, if you’re forcing me to suspend my neutral status, then my vote is with Croí. As Lánn said before, she remembers that Edorin told us it’s a good idea to stick with what we have, and she liked that idea. Croí had the pack originally so by default she puts her vote with him. So that’s that. No tiebreaker needed. Now, let’s all be done with this and move on.”


    “Even if I agreed with you to begin with, I’ve been convinced otherwise, and my vote has changed. Besides that, I just can’t stand being on the same side as you.” Jael said.


    “Happy now?” Keokin asked. William answered by growling, glaring in my direction as he slowly slumped back down into his chair, followed by everyone else. “Well then, anybody have any more questions for William?” Everybody shook their head. “Okay who wants to go next?” Lánn’s hand slowly rose.


    “I guess I can go, and we can go around from me. If that works for everybody.”


    “Sure, works for me.” Keokin agreed, fiddling with his nose and the gauze. Leola got up and came over to help him, glaring at William. William didn’t even notice.


    “Okay then. I’ll start. My name is Lánn Caida. I’m sixteen. Oh, but so are all of you...Well anyways, I have a mother…obviously, Celia (Kel-lee-uh), but my father died in the Eastern Wars ten years ago. I also have two Aged sisters, one named Geal, just like Croí’s last name. The oldest is Maeve (May-v). I live not too far from the Arena. Um...Yeah.”


    “How’s it feel to be the second shortest person in the group?” Sable asked, a smirk on her face. Lánn giggled before replying.


    “It’s pretty great. I’m pretty much always shorter than everyone I meet, so it’s nice to be a little taller than someone my age for a change.”


    “Yeah, now both of you are snack size for anything on the Island.” William blurted out with a chuckle. Klintock groaned.


    “Hey, William. The next time you want to open your mouth and grace us with your stupidity, do us all a favor and keep it shut, then go ahead and make a habit of doing that.” Klintock said with a glare.


    I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. I really wanted William to just shut up and leave us all alone.


    “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” William replied. Klintock groaned again then, turned to Lánn.


    “What does your mom do?” He asked.


    “Well, I don’t really know actually. I think she’s in lending coin. I do know that she has a lot of friends that visit her. They’re really nice. Sometimes they say goodbye in weird ways to my mom though.”


    “What do you mean weird goodbyes?” Asked Sable.


    “Umm… I can show you, but it’s… weird.” Lánn replied with an awkward smile.


    “Ok then, pretend I’m your mom and you’re one of her friends.” Sable said standing up. Lánn stood face to face with Sable and then giggled.


    “It’s weird, but they almost always do it. First, they say something like.” She attempted to make her voice get deeper. “I’ll see you again soon Celia. Then they do this.” She then hugged Sable, and as she was turning away from her, she reached her right hand over and smacked Sable’s butt, then walked off imitating the way a large burly man would walk. Everyone burst out laughing. Klintock scratched his head as he chuckled looking down at the table with a weird smile. Sable looked really surprised for a second, her face getting a little red as she grabbed her butt and giggled hysterically with her hand over her mouth.


    By the way some of them were looking around it was as if they understood something extra about this and were looking to see if anyone else understood it too. Why? I’m out of the loop again! That was a surprise though, that’s for sure. I was always taught never to touch that area. Or anything other than the arms or below the knees really and only if you had permission. Flint asked the next question.


    “So Lánn. These friends of your moms. Did you ever notice any of them giving her money?” Klintock punched Flint in the bicep.


    “You dolt.” Klintock said, half disapproving, half laughing.


    “Actually.” Lánn replied. “Now that you mention it, I had noticed a few of them would say goodbye like that, then my mom would clear her throat and hold out her hand, and they would give her a bag of coins. She just said that they borrowed a lot from her, and they were paying her back.” This time several of the others started laughing. Lánn looked around confused.


    “What? What’s so funny?” She had kind of a confused smile on her face. I shared her confusion. William started speaking.


    “We’re laughing because your mom is a…” Leola, who was standing and dealing with Keokin’s nose, turned and slapped William’s face with the back of her hand.


    “Keep your judgments to yourself William. You don’t speak for us. Do you have to ruin everything?” William stood slowly looking at Leola. Is he seriously going to hit her? Why did she hit him? I don’t know, but I’ll take her side over his, he’s terrible. He must’ve done something wrong.


    I could feel my heart start to beat faster, and I was becoming more and more angry and confused. I closed my book slowly and slid out of my chair, inching my way closer to him. I’m not letting him hit anybody else. If he swings for her, I’ll get in between them. Klintock interrupted my thoughts.


    “Come on you two. We’re listening to Lánn right now, and I must say it is fascinating.” He said as he looked back at Lánn who still had a confused and nervous smile on her face. I moved back to my chair and sat down with my book again. Leola went back to Keokin.


    “What was that all about? And what were you saying about my mom?” Lánn asked. William sighed, looking at Leola.


    “It was nothing.” Klintock answered. “William was going to make a joke about your mom, but Leola stopped him. We were laughing at your fine interpretation of a burly gentleman.”


    “Tell us Lánn.” Leola said as she took the gauze out of Keokin’s nose. “What’s your favorite food?” Lánn thought for a moment before replying.


    “I would have to say… Fish! I love fish. Especially the red one. I think it’s called Poníú (Pawn-ee-you). Sooo good.” She sat down and rolled her eyes as she licked her lips. “I want some really bad now.” She slumped forward pouting.


    “Well, we are on the ocean so maybe we can catch a few.” Leola said, trying to cheer her up. It worked too. Lánn immediately perked up.


    “Yes! Let’s catch some Poníú!” I found Lánn and Sable fun to watch. They’re so full of life and smiles; especially when they’re next to each other.


    “Ok then.” Keokin said as he sniffed. “Any more questions for Lánn anyone? Thank you, Leola.” Leola nodded and headed back to her seat left of Lánn. Nobody spoke, so Keokin motioned to Sable. “You’re next.” Sable smiled.


    “Ok then, my name is Sable Helios. My father is Loranden (Low-ren-den), and my mother is Andis (Awn-dish). I don’t have any sisters, but I have two Aged brothers named Kareck (Kaw-wreck) and Derris (Dare-ish). My dad fought in the war and was injured so his legs are lame, but my older brothers are the breadwinners. Derris works for the city guard and Kareck is a carpenter.” She paused for a moment slightly exhaling while she thought. “I think that’s it.”


    “Ok then, any questions for Sable?” Keokin addressed the group. Lánn had a question.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    “What does your mother do? What’s she like?” Sable smiled to herself.


    “My mother has always been soft and warm and kind to me, and I hope that stays the same. She doesn’t have any duties besides taking care of my father and me. My brothers live on my parents’ property with their families, so they help maintain the home and property.”


    “What happened to your father?” William asked as he put his feet down and leaned his elbows onto the table, fingers intertwined, staring at Sable with a slight smirk. Keokin, Jael, Klintock, and Flint all let out audible sighs of irritation and annoyance. Sable took a breath.


    “My father and his men were attacked by a large group of battle beasts. He ordered their retreat and was mauled by one of the beasts, attempting to escape.”


    “Ah, I thought I recognized the name Helios. My father talked about him. He talked about how because he ordered that retreat, dozens of soldiers died, including many of my father’s men because your father was a coward.”


    Everyone at the table was either sighing in frustration, groaning, or glaring at William. William stared at Sable, waiting for a reaction. I was just mad because it was William.


    “A coward?” Sable started, her orange and black eyes seemed to be tearing up. “Because of what happened to my father, I decided to study beasts and monsters from any books or stories I could get my hands on.”


    “So?” William interrupted with a chuckle. Sable continued.


    “And I found out what beasts my father fought. They’re eight feet tall. They have four, five-inch claws on each front paw. They have eight-inch tusks on their bottom jaw and an armored hide, along with a taste for flesh, and there were over one hundred of them.”


    “Yeah?” William interrupted. “Sounds like an excuse to me. Your father had over fifty men under his command. He ran away with his tail between his legs and there’s no escaping that. If your father was a true Cianían, he would have stayed and fought, but because he ran away, my father’s unit with reinforcements for your father was ambushed and many of his men were killed. If he hadn’t gotten inside a walled fort and funneled them in, him and his men would have died.”


    “That’s a lie! Your father was moving to reinforce my father out of boredom from the southern forts, and it was against his orders! If he hadn’t left his post, the enemy would not have broken through!” William squinted at Sable.


    “That’s a lie! He went under orders! And your gombeen fecker of a father…”


    He was cut short by Flint. Overcome with anger, he swirled around and slammed his left fist into William’s face, knocking him nearly out of his chair. William recoiled quickly, almost seeming unphased and struck back at Flint. Before his punch could land, Klintock and Keokin both wrestled him to the ground. Flint jumped on him, attempting to punch him again. Klintock stopped him and pulled him off, leaving Keokin to deal with William.


    William overpowered Keokin, punching him and throwing him off, pushing to his feet and charging after Flint. Klintock turned and with a swift movement, tripped William making him flop onto the table. He whirled around, fists clenched as he looked at Keokin, Flint, and Klintock.


    “Sit down!” Keokin ordered, pointing at William’s overturned chair.


    “I’m sick of you giving me orders! How’s about you try and make me sit down, huh?!” William stepped closer. He was no more than a foot away from Keokin now, slowly swaying back and forth as he stared up at him. “Go on then!” He pushed Keokin hard and Keokin stumbled back several feet. He paused and looked at William before turning his head slightly to address Klintock, Flint, and Jael who had also moved around the table.


    “You hear that? William would like some help finding his seat. Shall we help him?” All of them smiled as they looked over at William. Keokin made the first move and took a glancing hit to his chin, but before much more happened, Jael slammed William’s chin, dazing him. He was wrestled into his chair by the four of them combined, getting another pop on his cheek by Jael when he struggled.


    Keokin took out a length of rope from his pack. “Hold him down.” The others held William as he struggled. Keokin used the rope to tie William to the chair at his ankles, wrists, waist, and around his torso.


    After he was finished, they all stood and caught their breath as they returned to their own seats.


    “Gods, that felt good.” Jael said, smiling. Keokin brushed off some blood from beneath his nose as he retrieved a cloth from his pack.


    “Let me up!” William yelled in protest. “Let me u...” Before he could finish, Keokin shoved the cloth into his mouth and tied it behind his head. He then crouched down in front of William and sighed.


    “Now I’m hoping this helps you get this through your thick skull.” He tapped William’s forehead several times. “You may be strong. Maybe even stronger than me, or even stronger than me and Flint on a great day, but all of us together.” He motioned over to the table and all of us sitting there. “Are significantly stronger than you could ever hope to become. So, you had better learn to respect us, because otherwise you won''t become a part of this family and you won''t survive. I am going to give you a bit of time to think all of that over.”


    He patted William on the head before dragging William’s chair a few feet away from the table, then rejoined us. “Ok then, Sable, I believe you were telling us about your knowledge of beasts.” Sable glared at William for a moment before continuing what she’d been saying, slowly returning to her more chipper attitude.


    “I’ve been studying everything I could. I studied all the local ones and then moved onto a bit of the more exotic ones. I’m excited to be able to help study all the monsters in those books, and I’m hoping that my knowledge will help us out on this journey.” She said smiling at us.


    She still seems very bothered by what William said. She glanced at him every so often, and she wiped away a tear or two. I feel terrible for her. I thought of ways that I might help her, then remembered I had one of the monster manuals in my hands. I also remembered how disappointed she looked when William had told her that her bow would be useless because it was small.


    “Sable.” I said in a voice slightly smaller than I had originally meant it to be. She turned towards me. I slid the book across the table. “You should start with this one. It has all of the information gathered on the most dangerous and unique creatures on the Islands, including Bháis.” Her eyes lit up with excitement.


    “Thank you!” She immediately flipped it open and perused some of the creatures cataloged within.


    “And Sable.” I said, again in a small voice. She looked up at me expectantly, and maybe a bit confused on whether I had said anything. I spoke a little louder.


    “About your bow. I was taught how to use them by my brothers, and there’s one thing they drilled into me. It doesn’t really matter how big it is, only that you’re fast and accurate.” She smiled at me. It was slightly different than the other ways she had smiled before, but I couldn’t place how. Something in her eyes.


    “Thank you Croí, that helped a lot.” She said sweetly. I have no idea what to say to that. I just nodded a bit and sat back in my chair.


    “Yeah, I mean look at me.” Lánn piped in. “I’m really tiny but I’m sure that I have uses.” Most of us giggled and nodded in agreement.


    “Absolutely.” Klintock said, chuckling.


    “Right then, on that note, any other questions for Sable?” Everybody shook their heads as they looked around the table.


    “Ok then, we will move on to Céírde.” We all focused in on her, who, along with Jael and Leola had been silent for the most part. Céírde sat there for a moment, quiet before finally speaking.


    “I am Céírde Aléínn. My mother, Alexandra, is a Revorian (Re-vore-ee-an), and my father Denae (Den-a-yuh) was Cianían. He was a fifth-generation ambassador for the Cianían people. That’s how he and my mother met, and why I’m fluent in Cíanish (Keen-ish), Common, and Vorish (Vore-ish). Unfortunately, four years ago, he got sick and succumbed to his illness. My mother and I live far up to the North in Sandralia (San-druh-lee-uh). My mother is the assistant to the finance manager of Lord and Lady Loreann (Lore-ann) of Sandralia. My favorite foods are grape flavored taffy, chicken pot pie, and salted pork.” She paused for a moment. “That’s all I can think of now. Any questions?” Most of us just sat with a startled expression on our faces. Keokin found his words first and mustered up a question.


    “So, your mother is the assistant to the finance manager? Is that a lucrative position?” Céírde shook her head slightly.


    “No, not really. Truthfully, it is substantial enough to live a comfortable life, and we have our own home, but it’s not like I live in a palace or anything like that.”


    “I see.” Keokin responded.


    “So, who are Lord and Lady Loreann? And where’s Sandralia?” Asked Jael.


    “It’s a Revorian kingdom north of Ionad Talún but is not as populace, though it is a beautiful place. Lord and Lady Loreann are the rulers of Sandralia, but they are ruled over by a King named Efretis (Ee-free-tis). I’m told that he is a just and wise ruler, but I’ve never met him. He also rules over all the other northern Revorian kingdom of Adonida (Add-on-eye-duh).”


    That’s amazing. I wonder how many races there are in the world. Humans, Cianíans, Uraggians, Revorians. I wonder why we don’t see them around our cities and villages more often. Probably for the same reasons I don’t wander over to where they are. I don’t know anything about where they are and it’s scary to just walk up to other random Cianíans, let alone someone that doesn’t speak my language.


    “What’s a Revorian? What’s Vorish? How much common do you know? Did you know Croí knows common? Can you and Croí talk to each other in common?” Sable asked enthusiastically.


    “Revorians are like us, in most ways. Except their ears only have one point right on the top, but it’s long, usually around two or three inches. Their sclera is completely white, with only their iris portraying different colors depending on the individual. I get many strange looks because of my eyes and ears from any new people to Sandralia. Vorish is the most used Revorian language in Adonida.” Céírde chuckled a little, turning towards me.


    “You know Common?” Oh. She’s speaking common. Ok.


    “Yes… but not… fluent. I’m very… slow. Sorry.” I replied in common. Céírde smiled at me kindly.


    “That’s ok. I can teach you if you’d like.” She said, once again in common.


    “Yes, I would be…big thankful.” I said, grimacing awkwardly. She giggled, covering her mouth with her left hand.


    “I look forward to it.” She said, still with a small smile.


    “Come on you guys, quit flirting.” Flint said, returning us back to Cíanish.


    “Yeah! Get a room.” Klintock added.


    “Stop interrupting their budding romance. I’m trying to listen!” Sable said. Budding romance? What does she mean by that?


    “Do they have to do the Aging too?” Lánn asked.


    “Not that I know of.” Céírde said simply.


    “So why is your skin so… dark? Or tan?” This came from Flint. Céírde replied almost instantly.


    “It’s tan. In Sandralia I’ve seen people with black skin, and one time I saw some with brown skin. It’s due to a combination of things really. One is my lineage, being that I have one parent that is not Cianían. The other is my family’s history of being, shall we say, adventurous with other races.” Flint was writing in his notebook as she spoke. There was a pause as no one else could think of what to ask or say.


    “Very good. Thank you Céírde.” Keokin took over. “Next is Jael.” Céírde sat down and Jael stood up.


    “Do I need to name all my family or just say my name and move on to questions?” Keokin squinted for a moment.


    “Just the name and a random fact or two, then we’ll do questions. We have three months to get to know the rest.” She nodded, with a sigh of relief.


    “Ok here goes. My name is Jael McKann and my parents are farmers. They farm wheat, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, and a few other vegetables. I generally like fruits though which is what my uncle farms. So... yeah.” Lánn’s hand shot up for a moment before she remembered she didn’t need to hold it up to speak.


    “What do you do on the farm?”


    “Well. Uh. There’s a lot of stuff. It depends on what time of year it is. In spring, we plow the fields and prepare the soil for planting, then near the end of spring, or middle depending on certain variables, we plant seeds, and wait for them to grow. Some don’t really take as long, like lettuce, cabbage, and potatoes, but others take a bit longer. We also make sure the fences are well kept, and we’ve been raising pigs for a few seasons, so that’s taking some getting used to.” Flint leaned over.


    “How’d you lose your toe?” She looked down at the space where her left pinky toe should have been.


    “Oh that. Well, that was one of the farm hands and me being a little stupid. We were working in the fields, and I jumped in without shoes on because I just got back from a little fun with friends. As we were working, he lost track of where I was and came down on my foot with a tool and poof. No more toe.” Flint frowned.


    “Man, that sucks! I would have been throwing punches at that idiot all day.” Klintock snickered at his brother and commented under his breath.


    “You’ll throw punches at anything you dolt.” Flint rolled his eyes and paid attention to Jael’s answer.


    “Oh, it’s no big deal really. I mean it’s not like he meant to do it or like he took off my whole foot or anything like that. Besides, he showered me with gifts for at least two weeks after that to apologize.” Flint made a hmm sound and mumbled under his breath as he sat back, arms folded.


    “I still would have punched him at least once.” Klintock shook his head slightly while smiling as Flint’s comment proved his point.


    I stopped looking through the creature books with a small sigh and looked up for a moment. I noticed that nobody else was looking at me, so I chanced looking at some of the group.


    William was off in the corner, his brows still furrowed as he sat there tied to the chair. Keokin fidgeted with his nose every so often, pulling out some dried blood on occasion. Klintock snickered at Flint. Flint still had a dissatisfied look, knowing that nobody punched the ‘idiot’ that chopped off Jael’s toe. Jael and Lánn also snickered at Flint. Céírde was writing things down, straight backed and nearly emotionless. Then there was Leola.


    Her smile partially hidden behind her left hand, I found myself focusing in on her. I focused on her hand, the pale skin, and slightly pink thumbnail. My focus trailed up to her cheek and the small brown dot on her left cheekbone. Finally coming to rest on her eyes. The way her eyes squinted as she smiled and chuckled. It almost seemed like her eyes were a different shade of blue than the rest of Cianíans. Like they had a brighter glow than the rest of ours. Her hair shone bright from the light being let in from the large bay window.


    “So then.” Keokin said before sniffling. “Leola.” He motioned to her with his right hand. She cleared her throat.


    “My name is Leola. Uh.” She thought for a moment. “Both of my parents passed from the Deaneas (Daw-nesh) sickness that came fourteen years ago. I was taken in by Drea (Draw) and his wife Tanbhis (Tawn-v-ish) from the orphanage. Um… Birth parents were named Sean (Shawn) and Tára (Taw-ruh). I don’t really know where to go after that. Interests, I guess. I don’t have a specific thing I do really, I just learn whatever I can.”


    That’s so intense. Both of her parents died? I don’t really know how to react to that. Does she need a hug? I’m guessing just staying quiet is probably the best option, maybe change the subject. She doesn’t look like she’s going to cry or anything like that. She must have come to terms with it if she just casually brings it up like that. Nobody seemed to know what to say. Off in the corner came a low chuckle from William.


    I looked over to find him leaning back and seemingly laughing. I wanted to hit him in the face, but I didn’t think it would do any good. Maybe one too many hits to the head was his problem to begin with. I mused angrily. Instead, I drowned him out with a sudden start that even surprised me.


    “So, Leola.” I paused for a moment as I thought. What do I ask her? I looked down at the table. Oh, I know. “You mentioned learning a lot of things. What have you learned?”
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