36: Bumpy The Brave (Patreon)

“Tomatoes, check. Onions and bell peppers, check. Rice, check.” Vir went through Riyan’s supply list, crossing off each line on the parchment as Maiya and Barid raided the merchant’s store. Alda had hung back this time; the more people they had, the more they risked detection, so it was just the three of them there.

Lack of illumination was a problem, but Maiya’s Magic Candle shone just brightly enough for them to work, and the amber glow of Saran’s streetlights filtering in through the dusty windows helped as well.

“Alright, that’s everything,” Vir said, hefting his laden rucksack. Heavy, but manageable… Or so he sincerely hoped.

He beckoned Maiya over and retrieved a silver from the money box, placing it on a countertop.

Barid’s eyes popped upon seeing that. “That’s too much!” He said, “All of this is worth half a silver at best.”

“You urchins have some sort of relationship with these stores, right?” Vir said.

“Howdya know?” Barid replied.

“I mean, you said you stole from them, but I figure if they wanted to, they could stop you pretty easily. Not like you’re warriors or thugs, right? Which means they’ve been letting you steal from them. But I doubt they’d be okay with anyone stealing this much,” Vir said, sweeping his arm across the store. “Don’t want to mess up your livelihood, is all.”

Vir had actually come to his realization after discussing it with Maiya, who’d found it odd that the shopkeepers seemed to turn a blind eye to the urchins’ thievery.

“T-thanks,” Barid said, leading them to the back corner of the store, to the floorboards they’d removed. “Now let’s scram.”

Vir and Maiya followed the boy down into the small rocky tunnel they’d used to gain access. It had surprised Vir when the boy led them from the urchins’ hideout to a nearby alley. He’d then popped open a hatch that led underground.

The place was a maze, composed of a network of tunnels, collapses, and large spaces that looked as though they’d been city squares centuries ago.

“Dunno. Nobody does,” Barid said, holding Maiya’s Magic Candle as he led them through the darkness. The orb was the only source of illumination, casting dancing shadows upon their surroundings, making the deathly silent tunnel even eerier.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Water ran along the tunnel walls, soaking them with moisture and allowing moss to grow—much like Riyan’s grotto, but spookier.

Barid continued speaking in a low voice as they traveled, as if afraid to wake the denizens that lurked within these depths. “Some say Saran’s been sacked in de past. ‘N when dey did, dey jes built anoder city on top of it ‘stead of tearin’ de old one down.”

It sounded like a tall tale, but the evidence down here certainly matched. They’d just stepped out onto a cobblestone road, and Vir could even see remnants of old stone buildings, crushed under the weight of dirt and time. Ceilings were lower than they should’ve been, the hallways too narrow. This was no place for anyone to wander, and he wondered how long it would be before it collapsed entirely.

Vir only hoped the urchins weren’t underground when it happened.

They finally found the ladder they’d used to enter. Barid led the way up, and Maiya followed, leaving Vir to go last.

He gripped the icy iron rungs and heaved. The added weight of his laden rucksack forced him to give everything he had to ascend. The first few rungs went by quickly, but the higher he got, the worse things became, forcing Vir to take several breaks.

Yet with each rung climbed, Prana Vision became more and more active, showing Vir a myriad of browns, grays, and even whites. With the ability active, he felt as though he could navigate this place blindfolded.

Vir wasn’t one to waste opportunities. While he rested on the rungs, he searched for that ‘black’ prana he’d seen on the prison floor. Looking down into the ground, he saw a sea of earth prana, and some gray shadow prana intermingled. The air had a smattering of various affinities, but no matter how much he strained his eyes, he found no trace of that ‘black’ prana.

Of course it wouldn’t be that easy, he thought. If it was that obvious, he’d have seen it a long time ago. He was missing something here. He just didn’t know what.

It was only with Barid and Maiya’s help that he cleared the final rungs and make it back to the surface, a fact that ashamed Vir greatly.

The urchin looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Pack’s not dat heavy, iddit? Ya weak er sumfn?”

Vir grimaced, wiping sweat—and makeup—off his forehead. “Yeah. My body’s always given me trouble.”

“Guess we all ‘ave it rough, eh? E’en ‘ristos. Took y’all fer artists er sumf’n.”

Maiya laughed.

Art, huh? Vir thought. He’d never been exposed to that side of society in the village, but he supposed Sawai aristocrats would be well versed in it. He was now understanding the effort involved in adopting a proper disguise.

Wait… art? Artists?

An idea bloomed in his head.

“Barid, could—” Vir began, but Maiya interrupted him.

“Barid, could you give us a moment?”

“Huh? ‘Ere? Why?” The boy asked, looking around.

“Just need a moment, okay?” Maiya replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Alright, alright!” Barid clasped his hands behind his head and walked several paces away.

“What’s up, Maiya?”

“Your makeup, Vir… Your sweat’s gone and smeared it again.”

“Oh, right. Sorry…” Vir said, sneaking a glance over at Barid, but awareness was clearly not one of the boy’s strong suits. Vir sent thanks to Janak for the good fortune.

“Here, I’ll fix it for you.”

“Alri—Wait,” Vir whispered, “Maiya, you bring those other wigs with you? The different colored ones?”

“Yes? Why?”

Vir grinned. “Just had an idea. Hear me out.”

— —

“Yesser. Orders from de jail, ser. They be wantin’ de Ash’va back tonight. Fresh developments, ye see,” a brown-haired boy proclaimed, handing the stablemaster—a man in his early twenties—a writ of real paper.

“Oh, uh, mmm. I see,” the stablemaster said, looking over the document nervously. “Yes. Mmm. Yes. Everything seems to be in order.”

The stablemaster led the blonde-haired boy and the brown-haired boy into the merchant guild stables. Most of the animals had fallen asleep, snoring peacefully. But there was one in the corner that remained wide awake, whimpering, desperately searching for a familiar face.

The stablemaster opened the gate and tried to pull the beast out, but it resisted. “Stubborn, this one,” he said.

The blond boy immediately went up to the Ash’va and began soothing it. “There there, boy. Nothing to worry about. You’re safe now.”

He beckoned for the brown-haired boy to let the Ash’va sniff his hand, doing the same himself. The instant he did, the beast quieted down, ceasing its whimpering and nuzzling him.

“Wow!” The stablemaster said. “Took everything we had just to get ‘im into the corral. You work with Ash’va, boy?”

“Just a bit,” the blond-haired boy responded, leading the animal outside. The moment he’d left the stable, he mounted the beast, and the brown-haired boy followed suit behind him. “We’ll take it from here. Thank you for the help.”

“Anytime…”

They rode away into the darkness, leaving the stablehand holding the writ of paper.

“Welp. S’pose I better get this checked,” he said, mounting his own Ash’va. The text looked correct for an official writ, but he’d have to give it to someone who could actually read to be sure.

— —

“He didn’t suspect a thing!” Maiya said, laughing her heart out, riding behind Vir on Bumpy. “We just strolled right in and walked right out with Bumpy! Didn’t we, Bumpy?”

The Ash’va grunted.

“That’s my Bumpy,” she said, reaching down and petting his hide. “You were so brave, all alone like that. Bumpy the Brave!”

Bumpy whinnied at hearing his name called. “You hear that? He likes it, Vir!”

Vir chucked. “Bumpy the Brave, huh? It’s a good name.”

He had to admit; he was surprised the plan went off so well. Even though he lacked any training in the arts of subterfuge. Despite that, they’d pulled off a far better plan than old man Bakura’s gambit.

“Great call, Vir, using our makeup to disguise ourselves!”

“Just felt like we weren’t using our makeup well,” he replied, scratching his nose as he navigated Bumpy down the streets to the harbor, his hooves clacking against cobblestone. “I mean, the whole point of using makeup and changing our clothes was so we could be whoever we wanted to be. Not just two Sawai boys.”

Maiya nodded.

“But the problem was the suspicion we’d attract if we just up and changed our appearances in front of the urchins and old man Bakura. We needed some kind of excuse.”

“And that’s where me being an artist came from!” Maiya said, smacking a fist against her palm.

“Right. It just hadn’t occurred to me that aristocrats dabble in the arts. And makeup’s a kind of art, isn’t it?”

“It surely is!” She said, “I’m just thankful Riyan taught me. Can you imagine how much trouble we’d be in if we weren’t in disguise? We’d never be able to return to Saran!”

“I’m glad they bought it. Otherwise, we’d be dealing with a bunch of guards right now.”

“Speaking of,” Maiya said, looking around. “We could just make a run for it, right? Nobody’s any the wiser.”

But Vir shook his head. “No… All we’ve done is buy us some time. Old man Bakura mentioned it, right? The first thing that stablemaster’s gonna do is get the writ verified. And when he does, he’ll realize it’s a fake. I suspect we only have a few minutes, and the harbor’s much closer than the city gates.”

“Hmm. I suppose you’re right. We’d be taking a risk either way.”

“Yep. Either we chance it with Bakura, or we risk it with the guards. This whole plan only worked because the urchins knew the stablehand was illiterate. I’m actually surprised he didn’t force us to wait while he verified the writ, but I guess that’s where your makeup skills really helped.”

Vir gingerly touched his left eye. The swelling from his beat down earlier that day had decreased, but it still throbbed. Maiya had spent extra time with that area, ensuring the wound was completely hidden under foundation and compound. The stablemaster would’ve been far more suspicious of them if Vir had shown up with a black eye, after all.

They arrived at the harbor district moments later, and not a moment too soon. Vir parked Bumpy in an alley as a group of Ash’va that tore across the street in the opposite direction.

“Think the guard’s been alerted,” Vir whispered, waiting for the law enforcement officials to pass them by.

There’s no way we’d have made the gates in time, he thought as they waited for their would-be pursuers to pass.

When the sound of the Ash’vas’ hooves had dissipated, Vir brought Bumpy back out of the alley and trotted him down the pier to Bakura’s awaiting ship.

The pier wasn’t nearly as well lit as the rest of the harbor, and with the ocean looming nearby, Bumpy needed a bit of persuasion to make the final few steps. But with Maiya’s coaxing, calling him ‘Bumpy the Brave’ over and over, the crippled animal finally made it.

Even in the darkness, Bakura’s enormous form was clearly visible. “Looks like yer plan worked after all!” The loud man boomed, making Vir and Maiya cringe.

“Yeah, so let’s set sail as soon as we can!”

“No can do, ‘m afraid. Waitin’ on one last shipment. Gotta wait ‘till mornin’.”

“What!” Maiya cried. “That wasn’t our deal.”

“Ye, well, me bad, girl. I be a merchant, after all. Can’ say no to more profit.”

“And what if the guards search your ship and find us?” Vir said. “You’d be implicated too.”

The man waved away his concern. “Ain’t gonne happen. Don’t worry.”

Vir worried. He also understood how people like this worked. He’d seen the bargaining process too many times in Brij to be oblivious to these kinds of things.

“How much is that shipment worth?” Vir asked.

“Mmm?” Bakura said, as if he hadn’t anticipated the question. “Oh, expectin’ ta make ‘bout two silvers off o’ it in Balindam. Pagan Order’s thirsty for trinkets from all ova de world. They sell like hotcakes.”

Understanding where Vir was going with this, Maiya spoke up. “Trinkets? Doubt you’ll be able to sell them all. And then you’ll have inventory on your ship that you’ll have to either dump, or sell elsewhere. And that means less space for your other cargo. Which means lost profits.”

Bakura perked a brow. “Ye know yer business, boy, I’ll give ya that.”

Vir pulled out a silver from his coin bag. “I’ll pay you one silver to set sail right now.”

Bakura’s eyes glinted. The negotiation was on.

“Not a chance, boy. I know I cen turn that profit. But, well, yer brother’s right. It ain’t without risk. Alright, I’ll meet ya middle. A silver ‘n a haff.”

Vir sighed. “Remember, you had a hand in putting us in this situation. We shouldn’t have to pay for this at all.”

Bakura waggled his index finger. “Uh uh uh. I promised ah’ll give ye safe passage. Never said we’d put out tonight. That’s a speshul service. A silver ‘n forty coppers. Thas the lowes’ ah can go, boy. Don’t like it, wait ‘till the mornin.”

Vir flipped the man the last silver he had. “A silver, and I’ll make sure my father gets in touch with you.”

Bakura deftly caught the coin and stared at Vir. “Thas a promise, ye?”

“Sawai noble honor,” Vir lied coolly.

The sailor looked up at the stars. “Ye be lucky dem stars ‘re bright tonight. Not much cloud cover, ‘else we’d hafta wait until mornin’ regardless.”

He turned to his crew. “Hear dat, boys! Ready fer sail!”

“Ready fer sail!” a motley of voices called back, springing into action aboard the ship. Magic Lamps flickered on, and sailors climbed rigging and yanked on various ropes.

When Vir turned back to the pier, he saw Alda and Bakura, standing a handful of paces away.

“Maiya,” Vir said. “Give me Alda’s coin bag.”

“You’re gonna return it to them?” Maiya said with a scowl. “After all the trouble they caused us, I say we let them hang!”

“I’m as angry as you are, Maiya. Maybe even more. But they did help us, in the end. Sure, we used my plan to break out Bumpy, but even so, they hooked us up with Bakura and helped us with the rest of the supplies. Besides, I’d feel a little bad leaving them like that. They’ll probably starve.”

“Fine,” Maiya said, shoving the coin bag into Vir’s hand. “But I don’t like this.”

“Hey now, I didn’t say I’d be giving them back all the money, did I?” Vir said with a grin as he fished out a silver, which he handed back to Maiya. “Just returning what she had, plus a little extra.”

What remained in the bag were thirty coppers and two silvers. For the urchins, it would be a windfall.

Vir took a few paces to Barid and Alda and tossed them the sack. Their initial happiness turned slightly bitter when they inspected its contents, but they nodded back nonetheless.

“Oi! C’mere ‘n help me with yet beastie,” Bakura said, calling Vir over.

The big man led Bumpy up the ramp onboard the ship and tied him off to the mainmast, and when Vir looked back, the kids had already disappeared into the night.

The two friends followed behind the Ash’va, and the moment he stepped foot onto the ship, Vir knew this was going to be an experience. The entire ship swayed rhythmically underfoot. He immediately compensated, maintaining his balance, but Maiya reached out and grabbed him to stabilize herself.

“What?” Bakura barked. “N’ever been on a boat before?”

“Oh no,” Vir said. “We have. Several times. My brother’s just not very good with ships.”

“Then ye’ll be wantin’ ta stay abovedecks. If ya need ta barf, do it over the side. Ye might be ‘ristos, but my crew ain’t cleanin’ up yer mess.”

A dozen Lighten Load orbs embedded in the hull at regular intervals glowed with prana one by one as the sailors went around powering them.

“No way!” Vir exclaimed, entirely forgetting his disguise. “A pranasail!?”

If Bakura found it suspicious that Vir got so excited over such a small thing, he didn’t show it. In fact, he beamed proudly. “No’ quite, boy. De orbs help, but we ain’t got no mejai aboard to power wind ta our sails.”

Vir expected the ship to lurch up out of the water, but no such thing happened, making him wonder if they weren’t working properly. But then, oars from belowdecks extended out the side, and the ship glided away from port faster than Vir thought possible.

The wind picked up once they’d made it out into Saran Bay. Sails unfurled, oars retracted, and the ship picked up even more speed, cutting through the waves as if it floated on the water.

Maiya spent the entire time grasping the railing, single-mindedly focused on breathing deeply, doing everything she could to keep from doing something unsightly.

Vir had no such issues. And even if he did, it was his first time aboard a ship! Nobody would stop him from exploring every nook and cranny, even in this darkness. Prana Vision had abated, so he had Maiya charge her Magic Candle orb, which he took with him. After walking around the entire deck, he finally found a wooden door that led below.

Descending a steep staircase, he raised his orb high and illuminated the large room he’d just entered, for there was no other lighting down here.

Surprising, Vir thought. He’d expected to see the rowers down here. Maybe that’s another deck?

But the moment his orb shone upon the room, Vir’s blood ran cold. Bile welled up in his throat, and he felt the need to puke. Not from seasickness, but from what lay within the ship’s hold.

From aft to stern, from port to starboard, metal jail cells filled the entire ship. All packed to the brim with people, squeezed so tight they could hardly even move. And every single one had an iron collar around their neck.

They’d boarded a slaving ship.