Scourge One - Portcity

Scourge One - Portcity

Scourge One - Portcity

Look! You can see the city! I say as I rush to the very front of the ship.

The ship is one that Mom pulled out of storage, which is to say that its a ship that was sunk in the ocean just off the coast of the Land of Monsters that a few ocean-dwelling friends had started to call home. Mom ordered it pulled out of the ocean and some cleverer monsters got to work patching it up.

I dont know much about ships. This one is a caravel, I think. Maybe? It has three posts for sails in its middle, currently all deployed with black cloth snapping in the wind, and a few decks. The middle one is filled with small friends, an army of them that I figured I might as well bring along. The bottom, near the hull, is home to a monster that I named Gloop.

Gloop is a squid, sorta. Squids dont usually have so many legs, and I think theyre usually limited to eight or so tentacles, but Gloop didnt get that memo. He has hundreds of tendrils that he uses to push our ship along or to grab onto some bigger nautical monsters that can pull us across rougher waters. Hes pretty nice, even though all he can say is Gloop.

The top deck is where my friends and I have been living the past week and a half. It was pretty strange living on a boat, but I think were all used to it now.

Felix likes standing way up in the crows nest where the wind is strongest, and Esme spends a lot of time on the quarter deck, puking over the side while complaining about the way the ship rocks.

I cant see that far, Felix says as she joins me by the front. The figurehead twists a little to the side as I let go of it to look at her. Shes wearing her blindfold again.

I cant imagine why not, I say.

She grins and tugs it down, her pale eyes staring at me for a moment before she squints into the distance. Huh, I still cant see it.

I cant really blame her. Felixs eyesight isnt all that great, not that Ive ever heard her complain about it. The city isnt really that obvious. Its clear that theres a coast ahead, but even thats more like a darker line. Were surrounded by a rolling fog. Its not exactly a natural fog either. Mom wants this ship kept somewhat hidden. There are pirates and such off of these coasts, and I dont think the local navy would appreciate a monster-ship patrolling around. Hence, magical fog.

You see that little light over there? I ask. I point to a faint glow in the distance, a bit over the horizon line. Thats a lighthouse. Theres supposed to be one next to the port in Vizeda.

It could be another lighthouse, Felix says.

No, Esme says. Theres only supposed to be one.

I half-turn to take her in as she wobbles closer. When we left home, I was sure that everyone would get over any sea-sickness in a day or two. Esme is working hard to prove me wrong.

She hasnt changed all that much since weve left Montele. She might be a bit taller now? And her cheeks arent quite as pinchable, but shes still very cute. Her hair, usually all poofed out and wild is... still wild, but it looks like Mister Stretchy the cat after I give him a bath.

Hey, I say. You okay?

I pull her into a side hug, and she laughs before squeezing me back. We dont have all that much time for that kind of stuff though, not as we really do approach Vizeda. The tallest buildings are just tall enough to poke out above the fog, and I can make out some of the ships sitting at dock.

I jog back to my quarters at the back and pick out the stuff Ill be bringing with me. Its not all that much, mostly since Id rather travel light. A backpack has a couple of changes of clothes and a few small books that I figured might be handy. I have an empty notepad for notes, and a small bag full of gold and a few other coins.

A second, bigger pouch of gold I tuck in a loop on my belt, and I have a new cloak. My old one is hanging on a hook in my bedroom back home. I havent grown all that much, but I am taller now, and my old cloak only comes to mid-butt now, which would just look silly.

Mom made sure that all three of us have our own, that way well all be harder to identify, not that it should be a concern for my friends.

I dont have any armour or anything like that. I dont know how to fight with it on, and it would be heavy besides. I do have a nice knife that I also strap to my belt. And thats about it.

Once I have everything and Ive double checked that Im not forgetting something under my cot, I summon some little friends to hide in my cloak. A few butterbutts, some twinkle-fairies, a couple of spikeyboys; enough small monsters to give anyone pause.

Im ready! I call out as I step out of my room.

Me too, Esme says as she steps out of her room. Theres this wafting stink of sickness to the air coming from behind her, but I choose not to comment on it. Shes suffered enough as it is. Esmes got a big backpack on, a duffle bag next to her, and a second, smaller pack hanging by her hip thanks to a sling.

Youre bringing all of that? I ask.

I didnt bring anything for sea-sickness, she says. Im not going to make the mistake of not having whatever I need.

I have a lot of stuff too, Felix says. She has a backpack on, and three smaller duffle bags.

How much of that is food? I ask.

She looks guilty for a moment.

You should probably leave some of that behind, we have a lot of traveling to do, you know.

Fine, fine, she says.

The ship shivers, and I grin. Weve arrived!

***