Daxton - Episode 8
The 5th Compass | Tales of Stonehaven [2,511 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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Captain Silverblade paced and rubbed her stomach. It was a feeling that comforted her, though at what cost? How could she let this happen? What would Wendynn do if he found out? All these questions and more raced through her mind as the words pregnant and baby echoed in her head. Every few steps she stopped to look at her door, expecting a visitor. Her room was small and only took five steps to reach either end.
Suddenly, there came a knock on her door so lightly she hardly heard it. She yanked it open brusquely and found exactly who she was expecting on the other side, Spire, wearing a great big grin on his face. She looked over his shoulder and saw Wendynn standing just behind him, eyeing them both, suspiciously. She reached out and grabbed Spire around the collar, yanked him inside, then closed the door with a loud slam in Wendynn’s face.
“What took you so long?” she shouted frantically, clutching her stomach, feeling phantom pain, as the thought of something happening to her or her unborn child left her distressed.
“What is wrong, Silver? I thought you called for me on a different matter, but you behave in a way I have never seen before. Why do you claw at your stomach? Have you eaten something foul?”
“No, you fool, it was not something I ate. I need you to get Nelle right away.”
“Nelle?” He grabbed her by the elbow to stop her continuous pacing and forced her to look him in the eye. “What on Earth would you be needing the likes of her for? She’s nothing but a common witch,” he spat out.
“Unhand me. How dare you grab me like that?” She wrenched her elbow from his grasp and moved away from him to lean against her bed. “She is not just a witch. Although, her powers are what I seek right now. She is anything but common, Spire, and you know it.” Her desperation for his help made her forget the way he grabbed her as she reached out and grabbed his arm tightly. “Please, just do as I ask, time is of the essence.”
Spire’s eyes grew wide as he’d seen this behavior before. “You are with child. How could you? With who?”
Just then her door swung open with a bang as Wendynn stood in the doorway. He barged in as if expecting to find Spire and Captain Silverblade in a precarious position but was surprised to find them at opposite ends of the room.
“What?” she asked him angrily. He continued to move his eyes back and forth between her and Spire who leaned against a wall covered in trinkets she’d collected over her time as a pirate. Wendynn hated Spire and wished she never let him join her crew. He was cocky and stubborn, and of all her Captain’s he was the only one who always caused trouble.
“The men are murmuring about the word that man used just before he took his own life. Paragon. They wish to know what or who it is?”
“It is none of their concern and you have no right barging into my private room without knocking. Leave me to finish what I need and do not come here until I send for you. I am the captain of this crew and I decide what they need to know. Is that understood?” She took her hand away from her stomach and crossed her arms, hoping he hadn’t noticed. She knew why he barged in and as much as she much as she wanted to assure him there was nothing going on, she had little time for his childish games. There was a child growing inside of her that she had to put first. Its life must be spared at all costs as it did not ask to be born to a mother whose life is at risk every day.
“I understand. And the men, what will you have me tell them?”
“I will have you tell them that for now, the Paragon is not a concern they should have. Tell them to leave it be.” He nodded and turned to leave. “Oh, and Wendynn, I suggest you do the same.” He did not bother to turn around and face her, instead he continued to make his exit, purposely leaving her door wide open. “Bring Nelle to me. Be sure you’re not followed, and no one sees her enter this room, not even the men,” she whispered to Spire.
“It’s him, isn’t it? He’s the father?”
Captain Silverblade walked to her door and closed it quietly so as not to call attention to herself. “Spire, if you ever cared for me at all, if you care for me still, you will do what I ask and not question me any further. You and Wendynn are among my most trusted pirates. My family. I will not have you two fighting over me. You should be fighting together as brothers. Now go. Please.” She put her hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat quicken at her touch. He nodded and with his usual smirk, he marched out her door.
“I shall do as you ask, captain. The fair Nelle shall arrive here with me on the morrow. Farewell.” And with a flair for dramatic he left both her room and ship with great haste.
Anyone looking for Nelle the witch knew where to find her. She enjoyed helping others and did it from a tent she kept in the marketplace. Not too far from the Serpent’s Head was found a narrow road used by merchants to sell their wares. Almost every kingdom has a marketplace, where those looking to sell something, anything, must go. Under Nelle’s tent she sold the future.
Whoever entered her tent would have their future foretold in a most theatrical way. As a former student of Woodvale Academy, the last thing all graduates are taught is how to hide their talents amongst society. Nelle chose to be a Future Teller. She wanted a setting where she could have one-on-one interactions with people and be of most help to them. She learned how to see anyone’s future although they weren’t always happy ones. Whenever she saw a bad future, she’d mix a magic potion that would alter the course of events. Because she was helping peasants there was no actual harm done when changing their destiny.
Spire hated all the virtuous deeds she did, especially because the one thing he asked of her she refused to do. He wanted Captain Silverblade for his very own but knew someone stood between them. He asked Nelle to rid them of this person. She claimed forcing love was not something anyone, not even the most powerful of witches could do.
After he returned to his own ship, he took a small fishing boat and rowed towards the Gaspar shores. The sun had already begun to set which meant the merchants would be putting away their unsold items and headed home. Spire was glad to see the setting sun because it meant he would only have to go as far as the Serpent’s Head to find her. For all the good she does, the one thing about her Spire enjoyed seeing was when she let her hair down at night with the men at the bar. She may be a witch who does charitable deeds but was still a woman with needs.
Spire made it to shore as the sun set completely. The last of its rays descending behind the Arctic Slope Mountains in the distance. The yellow moon crept out from behind some clouds and caught the fading green of the serpent above the tavern door. He avoided the docks and any prying eyes that may be spying on behalf of the king and trudged up the sand hill to the tavern. At the door, he heard the chatter of voices loudly shouting to each other within. He pushed against the door just as a drunk man did the same on the opposite side. They both came at the door with the same intensity, causing it not to budge from its resting place. Spire shrugged at the mystery of why the door wouldn’t open and ceased pushing against it. The man on the other hand decided to take two steps back and charge at it, in his drunken state. He flew right through it and past Spire, tripping into a large barrel of water nearby. Spire chuckled to himself as he walked inside and found the place filled with men and a handful of women. These were the kind of women that the men would never marry, and the women preferred it that way.
As Spire walked past the bar, he winked at the barman who was well acquainted with him and who he works for. In a town like Gaspar, full of enemies, the barman thought it better to be on at least friendly relations with all sides. It’s the reason his tavern has been able to stay standing for so long.
He approached the bar and shouted over the men who were there talking about fish they caught earlier in the day. “Where’s Nelle?”
The barman cocked his head to the other end of the tavern at a table in the corner of the room. He pushed his way through several men till he found her seated at a table, as beautiful as he remembered her, listening intently to a man waving his hands about as he told her some animated story.
Spire had a job to do and unlike the many men surrounding her, he was not going to let her charm and beauty be a distraction. He straightened himself to stand tall, puffed out his chest, and marched right up to the table where a seat had just become available. He grabbed the back of the chair, spun it around and spreading his legs wide, sat and leaned on the back of the chair. Nelle pretended not to notice him.
Spire knew she was pretending to be interested in the story and decided to interrupt by winking at her. “Hey, there toots. Miss me?”
She faced him coyly and smiled. She knew how he felt about her and was not too fond of him either. Ever since she refused his demand, he’s been rude to her. Captain Silverblade was a longtime friend of hers and she was not about to put a spell on her. Especially not one that meant she would forever be entangled with this loathsome and annoying creature. “And to what do I owe this visit?” she asked.
“Scram buddy, I need to talk to the lady,” Spire said to the gentleman who seemed unfazed by Spire’s interruption. What bothered him most was when Nelle signaled for him to leave her table. He walked away sulking. Once the other men got the hint and left her table as well, Spire continued, “She needs you.”
“What’s happened? You must tell me everything.” Nelle leaned close to Spire to hear his whispered answer.
“We were attacked this morning by a crazed captain who spoke of some Paragon coming—.” Nelle stopped breathing and gripped Spire’s forearm tightly.
“Did you say the Paragon is here?” He nodded and she closed her eyes tightly, whispering words to herself he could not hear over the noise which grew louder around them. “What else has happened? How is she?”
“She’s pregnant.” Nelle release his arm and stood from the table. On instinct he stood as well, unsure of what she was about to do.
“Follow me.” She moved so quickly he hardly had time to react to her request beyond putting one foot in front of the other till they were both out of the Serpent’s Head. “If what you have told me is true and she’s asked for me, it can only be for one reason. I hoped this day would never come, but some things I see cannot be tampered with.”
Spire did not understand what she was saying. Whenever Nelle spoke like this no one understood her. He became concerned with the change in her countenance and her jumbled words. He had no clue what was going on and knew Nelle was not going to tell him. His best way to uncover the mystery was to bring her to the captain and demand answers from her.
“We must hurry back to the ship. The men will be asleep now. It’s the best time for us to sneak on board. We won’t be seen.” He started walking backwards towards his boat which rocked and bumped into the dock from the waves, but she did not follow. “What stops you? We must make haste. The captain seemed intent on my bringing you back as quickly as possible.”
“You do not understand. If I am to do what she wants we must first pick up a few things.”
“Pick up a few things? No. My orders are to bring you to her and that is all I intend to do. I have never seen her like this, Nelle. If the men saw her this way there would be questions, none of which I’m willing to answer.”
The yellow moon in the sky, now full, shone upon his eyes and Nelle swore she could see tears in them.
“I know you love her, Spire. I promise you, what I need will not take long to get. We must find a man and a child journeying along a dirt road and bring them with us to meet the compass maker who lives in a small village in Ebonthorn.”
“Are you mad? You want to journey to Ebonthorn? We cannot go there now. That is a full day’s walk and I don’t think she has that kind of time. I must bring you to the captain—.”
“Do what you must, but if you bring me to her and I do not have what I need, you will suffer the brunt of her wrath when she discovers you wasted time arguing with me.”
He hated to admit it, but she was right. He also hated having to follow Nelle’s orders, but he had no choice. He needed her to come with him but knew she would not come quietly. And a witch as powerful as her wouldn’t be easily forced against her will.
“Fine. Lead the way.”
“Excellent. You’ve made the right decision, Spire. You just might make a decent pirate someday. Now, first we must find the dirt road and if I’m not mistaken, we will find the man and child well before the moon sets and the sun rises on the morrow.” She nudged him in the shoulder and winked at him, much the same way he winked whenever he thought he was being clever. He rolled his eyes at her back as she walked on ahead of him, past the Serpent’s Head, and into the night with the yellow moon guiding their way.