Daxton - Episode 37
The 5th Compass | Tales of Stonehaven [4,589 words]
Daxton is the first book in the 6-book series, The 5th Compass, which takes place in Stonehaven. Released in serial form, two episodes each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The audio version is coming in the future for paid subscribers only. Visit the table of contents for a list of previously published and upcoming episodes.
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Before they reached the end of the market, they found Nelle and Wendynn huddled together at a table surrounded by other tables set up for patrons to eat, drink, and be merry. They are waved over by Wendynn who seemed all too happy to see them returned so he does not have to continue being probed by Nelle.
“How did it go? I take it you were unable to procure the compass from the blacksmith’s shop?” Wendynn suppressed a smile as Daxton and Barton sat on either sides of the table and reached for the two untouched bowls of food that were clearly for them.
Barton dug into his bow, unfazed by Wendynn’s comment. Daxton, on the other hand, felt a bit defeated. It had been many days since they escaped from the royal army, only to be so close to what he searched for, yet so far. It was not enough that he steals the compass, he needed to know how the blacksmith came to own it and deep down he knew that answer would not be so easily sought. What good would owning a compass do if it did not lead it to what he was in search of; his mother? He was not hungry and pushed his bowl next to Barton who, after polishing off his own, moved on to Daxton’s without a pause for air.
“We met the blacksmith just moments after we found the compass hanging in his shop. You are correct, we were unable to acquire it because of this. I did also find him to be a rather interesting man. He invited us to stay with him and—.”
“No!” Wendynn shouted, banging his fist into the table for emphasis. The bowl Barton was eating from nearly toppled over, spilling what little food was inside, causing even him to look up with curiosity at the sudden outburst. “You must never go to his house, eat his food, or sleep anywhere near that man.”
“What is it about him that has you so fearful of him? Are you not a pirate? Pirates are meant to be fearless, yet ever since we’ve met you, I have seen no signs of strength whatever. Are you really a pirate?” Daxton asked. He grew tired of listening to Wendynn’s suggestions and orders, following them without question and he knew nothing of who he was.
“I was a pirate. Not anymore.”
Barton dropped his spoon into the bowl. “that is impossible. No one can just stop being a pirate, even I know that.”
“Shut up and finish your dinner. I have heard of only two ways someone can cease from being a pirate. Both of them are punishable by man’s law to either life in prison or death by hanging. Which of them have you committed?” Nelle wished to know what had become of Wendynn, the man who loved her best friend, Captain Silverblade. But if what he said was true and he could no longer call himself a pirate she would know why and avenge his deeds if need be.
“Two ways? Really? And what may they be?” Barton asked, sliding out of Nelle’s reach as she appeared ready to strike him.
“A pirate is expected to follow a code. It isn’t written in any book, but it is understood that to break such a code would mean the end. One of them is to kill another pirate with no just cause. Of course, pirates kill each other all the time on the open seas for treasure and honor. But to kill a pirate without a reason is cowardly.”
“Is that what you did? My father—,” Barton started to speak but stopped short when Wendynn returned his question with daggered eyes.
“The other is to help a member of the royal family defeat a pirate ship. Any pirate who does this is a traitor and if ever caught would be made to walk the plank!”
The silence that fell amongst them was deafening as no one dare speak up to ask which of the two most egregious codes he broke.
“Well, out with it man, which are you guilty of?” Nelle could not stand the silence any longer and she demanded answers as she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“Neither.” Wendynn spoke the word so softly they barely heard him over the noise of the crowds around them. “I was deserted. The man I was sent ashore with bloody well turned me over to the authorities. Told them I was…,” he stopped speaking when he realized, perhaps telling these travelers he was Captain Silverblade’s quartermaster wouldn’t be in his best interest. He’d already been turned over to the royal army once and would not wish to repeat what he went through to procure his escape. “Let it just be said that the traitor is the pirate who left me in the hands of a merciless royal army.”
“If that is true then why do you say you are no longer a pirate?”
He banged his hand on the table again in anger. “Because I have been without a ship or means of escape from this bloody land for nearly two decades!” They all looked upon him with pity. “A pirate without a ship is like… A fish without water to breath. I suffocated and died a long time ago. All I am left to be is a man.”
Nelle let go of the hilt she had been gripping and turned her head away from Wendynn in shame, not for what he said, but in herself, for believing he was capable of breaking the pirate code. She knew who he spoke of as the traitorous pirate and vowed, same as he, to get her revenge upon Spire, the pirate she once thought was actually worthy of his title as Captain of his own ship.
“Let us not sit here and dwell on the past any longer, as our present danger is clearly in our midst or will be soon enough. Wendynn and I must find accommodations and the two of you must ready yourselves to dine with the blacksmith and his daughter,” Nelle responded, in an attempt to break the dark cloud that had fallen upon their table.
“I forbid it. Just steal the compass while you know the blacksmith is home preparing for your arrival,” Wendynn responded.
“I cannot. I need to know how the blacksmith came to own the compass. Knowing where it is will not help me in my pursuit of answers,” Daxton replied.
“Answers? What answers could you possibly hope to garner in knowing how—.”
“Enough of this chatter. The sun is already setting. The darker it gets in these parts the harder is becomes to find a place where one might rest their head. And you two mustn’t get off on the wrong foot with this blacksmith—,” Nelle began, “I did not catch his name…”
“And I am afraid it’ll have to wait. You are correct my friend, you alone would have a difficult time finding a place to sleep tonight, but with me by your side it shouldn’t be much of a problem. For you see, I know a woman of ill repute, but she would be able to provide us with a bed and food for the night.”
“You speak of Magenta?” Nelle asked, knowing the answer even before he responded.
“I do indeed. I take it you have heard of The Garden, then? Or perhaps you have visited there during your frequent stops?” Wendynn winked at Nelle and she found herself surprised to have winked back in agreement. No, it was not her who winked back at him, it was Krieger. She could sense him gaining more control of her body. She wanted to warn the boys but with Wendynn there it made it impossible to tell them anything. They were young still and had never truly encountered magic before, they would not know she was in danger of losing herself completely within this body and she doubted she could explain it to them clearly. Her only hope would be to get to the docks and hope to get a message to the fishermen there about her search of a steamship.
Nelle still held out hope that her body was being safely cared for by Griggs somewhere in the open seas. He wouldn’t know where she was headed as she refused to tell him anymore than he needed to know at the time in case he was apprehended by the royal army. Now she wished she had told him of her plan to visit her hometown of Sedinia. She feared he might not have made it past the castle gates in his wagon and was captured. If so then he’d be tortured, and her body probably incinerated as they’d believe it to be a dead body.
“I have heard of it. But I would never be caught dead in an establishment such as that. Can there be found no other places to find a small room to sleep? It does not even have to come with a bed.” Nelle was desperate not to visit this place as she knew the owner, Magenta, all too well.
“If you have been here before then you know we have passed the hour of reasonable accommodations. No one here would open their doors to us. We should be grateful for a place like The Garden. Without it, men like us would be forced to spend our evenings in the streets, or worse, Reapers Walk.” Both Daxton and Barton looked down at the empty bowls of food and grimaced again as the smell of that place still lingered in their minds and on their palette’s. “What ails you two?”
“The blacksmith, his home is located on the other side of Reapers Walk.”
At this Nelle and Wendynn laughed heartily, each of them nudging Daxton and Barton until they joined in on the merriment as well. They knew what was yet to come, but for now they needed to find some joy amongst their impending misery.
Wendynn led them towards the garden. Nelle remained as far behind as she could, pretending not to know where they were going. She’d been to it more times than she’d like to remember and dreaded every step she took that brought her closer to it.
Before they came within one hundred yards, she smelled the gardenia’s and knew they were near. The Garden is a tall, three-level house, surrounded by a lush garden. it is the only place in the entire village that is absolutely beautiful on the outside. Patron’s, all men, are greeted at the gate by two rather large men, whose job it is to only allow those with money to pass through. Then there were those who appeared to have either too much money or might be members of the royal army. These men had to pass a cursory inspection done by Magenta herself, who watched from a window in her private office.
As Wendynn and Nelle approached the two guards, she saw them turn and look over their heads in the direction of Magenta’s window. Nelle tried not to look up but couldn’t help herself and she locked eyes with Magenta who stood in the window. She gave a slight nod to let them through and Nelle knew this would end up being the biggest mistake she’d made so far.
Wendynn walked onward as if his being allowed admittance was due to his frequent visits. In fact, both looked like they had little to no money whatever and if not for Nelle looking up at the window when she did, they probably would have been turned away. Her curiosity gained them entry, but she hoped to never tell him that.
A narrow path, surrounded by even brighter and flowers and bushes, led up to the towering house. All the windows on the ground floor were lit, with lacy curtains, and through them could be seen the shadows of men. The front door opened, and laughter escaped along with the sound of music being played. The Garden was never short of entertainment for the men all through the night. Whether a man needed a place to hang his hat for the night or a place to have a good time the women who resided here were ready, willing, and able to do whatever he desired; for a price.
Both men entered the house and were immediately met by two lovely young women who greeted them.
“Why hello darlin’ are you two travelling together? My name’s Iris.”
“My friend and I need a room for the night. Separate of course,” Wendynn said, winking at the other young woman who stood next to Iris. “And who might you be?”
“Oh, stop it Wendynn, you know who I am,” she replied, shoving his playfully in the shoulder.
“Lilly, I’d like you to meet my friend—.”
“We know Krieger already, do not we girls?” Nelle’s body froze in fear as she recognized the voice descending the stairs just behind her. Wendynn looked up passed Nelle with a look of genuine shock on his face, similar to the look on Lilly and Iris’s faces.
“Blimey, if it isn’t the queen herself,” Wendynn said, pushing past Nelle to stand at the foot of the stairs. “Allow me.” He extended his hand towards Magenta who touched just his fingertips as she took the last few steps.
“Wendynn, is it?” Magenta asked him. He nodded, remaining speechless as he was stuck silent by her ageless beauty. Most men were struck with this similar silence so she would remain upstairs whenever men were about. For Magenta to make an appearance such as this would need to be a good reason and Nelle knew what that reason was as she did not dare move or turn around. “Lilly and Iris will take good care of you. Compliments of the house.”
Before Wendynn could properly thank her for such hospitality he was whisked away by the two women up to the second floor where all the windows were dark and covered by heavy curtains.
Magenta walked up behind Nelle and whispered in her ear. “Follow me. Now.” Nelle knew she had no choice but to follow without objection. She hung her head and spun in place, following close behind. Magenta wore high heels and a long flowing black robe. Her long hair was pinned up around her head and fall haphazardly down around the nape of her neck and face. She walked quickly down a long corridor towards the back rooms where no men were ever allowed and the women who worked there watched as Nelle was led by Magenta, wondering what was happening.
Nelle was led into a large kitchen where two women slaved over a hot stove. The aroma of stew and bread hung in the air and made Nelle’s stomach grumble to smell it. “Get out.” The women dropped the utensils they were holding and left their stations unattended. Nelle fought the urge to rush over and prepare herself a bowl as she watched Magenta saunter over to the table situated in the center of the large kitchen and sit upon the stool. “Do not tell me you feel the need to hide in that in order to visit Sedinia now, daughter.”
Nelle visited often and every time she did, she made sure never to be seen by her mother or anyone who would tell of her whereabouts.
“I tried to avoid coming here because I knew you’d overreact.” Her mother put up one finger to silence her daughter.
“I do not overreact. You are the one who thinks it is necessary to avoid me. You are the one who stole my son from me.” Magenta curled her hands into fists and then quickly loosed them when she saw Nelle noticed. She would not get allow herself to get angry.
“You cannot see him, mother, and you know why. Just know he is safe, and he is fine.”
“He is my son damn it!” Magenta stood and reached out one of her hands, palm up, making a ball of fire appear in it. Nelle knew she was defenseless against her mother this time. Without her own body or the full use of her powers, she could not stop her, and Magenta realized this. “Do not tell me someone has finally defeated my daughter?” She put out the flame in her hand, sat back on the stool and laughed menacingly. “Tell me who this impressive person is so I can shake their hand and thank them.”
“The Paragon, mother.” At the mention of that name Magenta stopped laughing and just stared at her daughter, fear showing in her eyes.
“What did you just say?”
“I said the Paragon, mother. He has been summoned.”
“But why? Who would be so stupid as to call forth such a monster? He did not hurt you, did he?” For the first time since seeing each other her mother behaved like she actually cared. And for a moment, Nelle was happy to think of Magenta as something more than a heartless woman out to use men and take all their money.
“Rowan. He’s fed up with—.”
“do not say it. I always knew your friendship with that girl was going to lead to no good and now look at you. Are you in this man to hide from it?”
“No mother, why I am in this body is a long story, but I do need your help if you can remember what it means to help another human being without anything in return?” Nelle knew to get her mother’s help she should not jab at her so harshly, but she couldn’t help herself. There was a time, long ago, when her mother was a kinder person and The Garden was a safe haven for wary travelers. But after a falling out with her daughter and a terrible encounter with one such traveler, things took a turn for the worse.
“What do you need?” Magenta was tired of fighting with her daughter. She knew they’d never see eye-to-eye and her chances of seeing her son were long since gone. All she could hope for now is a chance to by a mother to her daughter whenever the opportunity presented itself.
“I need to find my body. I did not lose it, I just…misplaced it. I needed to use this body in order to escape Gaspar Castle and Griggs, you remember him? Well, he has my body and was supposed to meet me at the docks with it, but he never showed up and we could not stay to discover why.” Nelle let out her story quickly, without taking a breath, hoping her mother only caught the important parts of it and would agree to help without giving any argument.
“You entrusted your body to a man? And not just any man, to Griggs? Why of all the stupid—.” She stopped herself when she saw the look on her daughter’s face. She may be inside the body of a man, but Magenta would know those eyes anywhere. They were the eyes of the little girl she remembered fondly, calling out to her mother for help. She was just a child then and an adult now, but the look of desperation remained the same. “Fine. I’ll see what I can discover of Griggs and your body. Dahlia!” Before Nelle could stop her, a woman entered the kitchen. “Take Krieger here up to a room.”
“Surely I can show myself…” But Nelle knew that would be impossible.
“Come along sugar. You know men aren’t allowed upstairs unattended. I promise I won’t bite.” Dahlia took Nelle by the hand and she felt an instant jolt in her pants she had not felt before. As she was led upstairs to the second floor it was as if with each step, she was losing herself. The curves of Dahlia’s body became mesmerizing and the smell of her perfume intoxicating. They stopped at one of the doors and Krieger put his hands around her waist, breathing in the scent of her hair. “Easy sugar, all in due time.”
Dahlia unlocked the bedroom door and Krieger picked her up easily in his arms. He carried her to the bed, kicking the door closed behind him. He placed her down gently and for a moment wondered where he was and how he got there. He wanted to ask the woman he didn’t recognize who was removing what little clothing she was wearing but found himself unable to speak. She got up onto her knees on the bed and kissed him hard, her arms around his neck. Suddenly, he forgot what he wanted to ask and just enjoyed the sensation. She lowered her arms from around his neck and started to undo his pants when he pushed her away from him. She fell backwards to the other side of the bed. Dahlia thought he did this as a game, but it was Nelle who pushed her.
Nelle collapsed to the floor in pain as she whispered, “The Paragon is near.”
Outside of their window, just beyond the entrance to the garden was a small group of men dressed in the royal army colors. Among them were Captain Corwinn and the Paragon stood beside him. They did not wait as others are meant to, for a signal from Magenta, to gain entry. The Paragon used his powers to force the two guards to stay in their place as he and Corwinn walked through the gate.
Back inside the bedroom Dahlia tried to help Krieger back to his feet but found him too heavy to lift. The door opened with a loud bang and Magenta entered, shoving Dahlia aside. “Get up you fool. He won’t find you here. The magic he senses will be from me. Take him upstairs to my room and lock the door. Give no one this key until I come looking for you.” Magenta helped Nelle get to her feet. She then left the two of them as she made her way slowly downstairs, trying to compose herself before the intrusion she knew was coming.
As she reached the landing, she glanced up to see Nelle and Dahlia walk out of the bedroom they were just in and down the hall towards the other set of stairs that led up to her private bedroom. Her eyes met with the front door as it opened to reveal The Paragon standing in the doorway. She put the best smile she could muster on her face and walked towards him, showing no fear.
“Hello gentlemen. Welcome to my home.”
“Where’s the witch? I know she’s here. I can sense her presence.”
The Paragon stepped inside the house with Corwinn close behind him, looking around at the place. He’d never been in an establishment like this before and Magenta could tell she’d probably never see him again unless it was on royal army business.
The girls in the house knew there was trouble by the code phrases Magenta used. She only welcomed gentlemen into her home when she suspected them of being an authority who planned to shut her down and arrest her. When they heard this, they’d close the doors to the sitting room where most of the men were taken who did not want to stay the night, but just wanted a good time. The doors were heavy enough to muffle the sounds from within and also prevent them from hearing anything that may be going on outside of them.
“I am afraid the only witch you sense here is standing before you.”
The Paragon looked upon Magenta in disbelief. How could she be a witch? Sensing his incredulity, she held out her hand, palm up, and brought forth a ball of flame. This time, instead of putting it out, she threw it just over the Paragons head, sending it crashing through a small glass window over the doorway. Glass bits rained down on Corwinn’s head as he wondered to himself how he ended up entangled in this miss to begin with.
“I am impressed. What is someone like you doing here?”
“No man tells me what to do. I chose this life. Can you say the same?” She hated the Paragon and all he represented. He was more powerful than she could ever be, but he was tethered to his, with very little control over what he did with it and why. A part of her felt sorry for him.
Corwinn sensed the Paragon contemplated her question and would be for much more time than they had to spare. “Have two young boys been through here? Or a hag, perhaps?”
“A hag? No,” Magenta smiled at his ignorance. “Only men are permitted beyond my gates so the boys you seek are definitely not here either. But you are welcome to look around if you please. And gentlemen, if you see anything you like, you may have her for the night, with my compliments.” Magenta gave them both a wink and she climbed the stairs, never once turning back to see what they would decide to do.
Before she reached the top of the landing, she heard her front door slam loudly which brought her to her knees on the stairs, in relief that they were gone. She looked back just to be sure they were actually gone and then continued her climb upstairs. Sitting on the foot of the steps that lead up to her private bedroom she found Dahlia frightened, holding the key she was given earlier, tightly in her hands. Magenta held her hand out and received it promptly.
“Turn in for the night. you have earned it.” Without saying a word, Dahlia stood and walked quickly down the hallway and entered one of the empty bedrooms. Magenta heard the door lock behind her as she ascended her staircase up to her bedroom. She entered it to find Nelle standing at her window. “Get away from there, are you mad.”
“They’ve already gone. How did you get them to leave so quickly?”
“I just showed him that I was the witch he sensed here. But he said he was searching for two boys and a hag, of which you are neither. Care to explain?”
Nelle turned to face her, and Magenta knew she would receive no such explanation. As much as Nelle felt she needed someone to confide in, especially since she had not seen or spoken to her best friend, Captain Silverblade, since the night she took her child away over eighteen years ago.
“I am afraid I cannot, mother. I would not have you tangled up in this mess and besides, I do not think you would wish to know the answers.”
“You have always misunderstood me and my motives. You think I had a choice, do not you?” Nelle knew exactly what her mother spoke of but did not wish to relive the sordid memory. “Until you have a child of your own, I could never explain myself and you would never understand.” Before Nelle could stop her mother, she was met with a slammed door to her face. The sound jolted something within her again and she barely made it to the bed at the far end of the room, collapsing onto it, she found herself dreaming about Dahlia, but not as herself, as Krieger.