Patchwork Earth: Chapter 13 (Patreon)

Chapter 13

“I agree with Klai,” said Goto. “I don’t trust a word she said.”

“Hold on now,” said Bose. “A lot of what she said tracks. It was awful convenient that she stumbled on us. Knowing she was looking for newcomers-”

“Worldwalkers,” said Klai. 

Bose rolled his eyes. “Worldwalkers, then. Either way, she knew we were out here, and saved us from a bad end. We were about to be ripped to shreds or die of thirst. I think she’d be a bit more cagey about it if she were out to do us a bad turn.”

“She spelled it out for you,” said Goto, leaning back against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. “There are predators in Patchwork. It is obvious she meant herself. I am sure she thought she was being coy.”

“It’s the sign of a guilty conscience,” added Klai.

“I can’t believe you two,” said Bose. “We owe her our lives, and she’s been mighty friendly, even though some of us ain’t exactly been warm. She got some special food for Klai.”

“I doubt there are even fish under here!” Klai lifted the tray, and a pungent smell filled the room. Sure enough, the plate was covered in cleaned fish that reminded Goto of anchovy. “So what if there are? That doesn’t prove anything.” The delphen’s stomach rumbled, and she took a bite. Her eyes flew open and a line of drool flowed from her mouth. “Oh… oh my. I’ve never had anything so…” The delphen took a handful and deposited them on her plate. 

“Y’see? She’s a good hostess. I agree she wants us for something more, but I’m willing to hear her out. Way I see it, we owe her that.”

“You are too enamored with her bosom,” said Goto.

“You care to repeat yourself?” asked Bose, his eyes narrowing.

“Yeah,” said Klai through a mouthful of fish. She swallowed before continuing. “You’re clearly smitten with her. I don’t see why when I’m-” She blushed and covered up her near admission with a quick sip of the watered-down liquor. Goto wondered why he was the only one who wasn’t letting his libido control him. “It’s clouding your judgement.”

“Now see here,” said Bose, leaning over the table on his forearm. “I ain’t ‘smitten.’ I just happen to think she’s a well put together lady, seein’ as I have eyes. I just ain’t going to assume she’s out to get us ‘til I have reason to think otherwise.”

“Tell me,” replied Goto. “Did you think the same of Jeb before he stole your horse? Were there warning signs?”

Klai tilted her head and let out an inquiring whistle.

“Before we met you.” Bose winced at the memory. “That was different. We were working together, but he never did me any great favors. Captain Nathalie ain’t done nothing to deserve this suspicion.” 

“Besides fire at Klai’s people,” replied Goto. “Surely you noticed those explosions she used to dispatch the sandswimmers were like the ones in the jungle.”

That stopped Bose short, and his brow furrowed in thought. “That don’t make sense. We didn’t see any sort of airship around back then.”

“We were in the middle of a battle,” said Goto. “We weren’t looking up.”

“Then why wait a day to pick us up? What, you think she was just flying down the desert, saw us, took some potshots into that fracas, then waited around to pick us up?”

“She did detect you both as soon as you arrived,” countered Klai. “Either way, she took more than a day to find you. What was she doing, if not biding her time?”

“That’s a heck of a stretch. Klai, you were saying the Romish like to tool around in airships too, right? You and them don’t see eye to eye. They could’ve flown on past, seen some of you exposed and thought they’d take some of you down while they could.”

“Bose, what makes more sense?” Goto stood and placed a hand on Bose’s shoulder. “That a ship we don’t know even exists is out there, or that the only airship we’ve seen attacked twice?”

“I reckon that sounds worse when I hear you say it back,” he conceded with a forlorn sigh. 

Sally the parrot had hopped down from her perch and was trying to beg for some of the fish that were disappearing down Klai’s gullet. The delphen was unmoved, no matter how imploringly she squawked. 

“Git, bird!” Bose waved his hat at the bird, and came up short before he continued the discussion. “Well I’ll be.” He turned the Stetson over in his hands. “Weren’t an hour ago this thing was red as the devil himself, and now it’s just pink.”

Goto let out an admiring grunt. “Our clothes are self-cleaning? I certainly won’t complain. Just another sign that we need to be cautious about Patchwork. We do not understand how anything works, which means we cannot trust anything or anyone.” It reminded Goto of an experience with the card shark down by the docks in San Francisco. It had cost him fifty dollars and a night in a jail cell. 

“Gyas,” corrected Klai. “And I swore to help you, on my family’s honor. You can trust me.”

“Gyarz? Gas?” Bose shook his head. “Naw, I can’t say that right. I’ll stick with Patchwork.”

Goto nodded to Klai. “I am sure the captain would say the same about helping us, Klai. However, you have not given me any reason to doubt you.”

Bose sighed. “Look, I’ll lay it out. I do fancy her, but I’m keeping my head about me. Either way, we don’t want to let on that we doubt her while we’re on her ship. We’re outnumbered, and if she can detect our arrival, who knows what else she could do? I say we give her the benefit of the doubt, but we stay on our toes. Agreed?”

Klai’s face fell, but she nodded silently. Goto felt for her, but it was hardly the time for unrequited crushes. “I’ll accept that. More to the point, we haven’t had much time to really think since we got here. What do we even want to do? Where do we go from here.”

“Please, help get me home,” replied Klai. “Then you’ll have the resources of the Blessed Oasis to help you.”

“That’s a given,” replied Bose. “A man’s word is his bond, and I promised to get you to safety.”

The samurai paced around the room, suddenly full of nervous energy. “Your people are trapped in the oasis, yes?” Klai nodded. “I do not wish to insult you, but what resources do you have to offer to two people trying to leave Patchwork?”

“W-well, we… Sally! It’s all gone, see? Go away!” Sally hopped up and, seeing the empty plate, went back to her perch with sad chirp. She didn’t dwell on her misery, and went back to cleaning herself.

“Leave Patchwork?” Bose waved his hand out the window. “What do you want to do that for? So soon? Once we get to some civilization, I’d bet a month’s salary that we’ll see some wild stuff. I mean shoot, we’re on a flying ship crewed with monsters like out of the old Greek stories! I bet this ain’t the tip of the iceberg. You want to give up already?”

“I have responsibilities,” replied Goto. “My family is relying on me.”

“That can wait!”

“And what if we run afoul of the Romish, or another faction? We should at least know how to leave Patchwork.”

“That sounds sensible,” said Klai. “I’d want to find an escape route, too.”

Goto perked up. “Do you know a way back to our home?”

She shook her head, looking at him shamefacedly. “No, we do not. We have not even seen a worldwalker in a century. I will do as much as I can.”

“That’s another good reason to stay friendly with Nathalie.” He reached up, easily touching the ceiling in the cabin. “This ship’s our ticket out of the Outlands, and it ought to be able to make a detour to Klai’s village. As long as we’re here, we’re safer than we are out there.” To emphasize his point, he banged his fist twice against the ceiling. 

And just like that, the engines cut out.

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