Chapter 7: The Port Town of Termina
Termina, another world, 1020 A.D.
"Oi, that's it mates! We made it!" Kid said, fists on her hips, a proud smile on her lips.
The port town of Termina was a huge contrast to Arni. The buildings were all made of silver-white brick as well as the streets. The town was split up in three main streets with a long stairway that connected them. The west-most part of Termina consisted of docks were several ships were tied to pegs with thick ropes. One particularly huge vessel bore the inscription: "Magical dreamers, diamonddust tour, 1020. A red-carpeted footbridge connected the vessel to the docks. Above the footbridge stood an archway decorated with red, white and pink light bulbs and balloons. Two buff men wearing sunglasses and standing motionless with their massive arms crossed guarded the entrance.
"Oi, mate I bet you won't dare calling one of them a bloody douchebag."
"I might as well tell them you insulted their mom." Serge quickly replied.
"Oi, we'll see about that."
Serge began feeling nervous as he saw her walking toward the two guards, but his heart-beat returned to normal once he saw her head over a stand labelled with :"tour tickets here". Serge and Leena followed her. Once at the stand, Kid and Serge's jaws dropped.
"Oi, what the bloody hell did you just say?"
"I'm really sorry, but the show has just been cancelled. I can't tell you anything else."
"What a bloody waste!" Kid said, kicking a rock.
"I can't believe that I finally get a chance to see them live after so many years and the dang show's cancelled." Serge said, plopping himself on a nearby bench.
"It's not that bad. We can still enjoy the festival a bit." Leena said, sitting next to him.
"Yeah, right." Serge said, without any enthousiasm.
The three began wandering in the streets that were swarming with people. They had climbed to the highest street and were looking down at the ring that was used for the fighting tournament. It consisted of a terrain made of dirt with two massive wooden poles in the center that served as obstacles. Two men were currently fighting for a place in the finals. Serge immediately recognised one of the two contestants as Karsh. The other was a tall blonde man with a thick beard wielding a massive spear. Karsh was leading four strokes to two according to the scoreboard.
"If he wins this tournament, Karsh will tie Garai's and Dario's record of three championships in a row." Leena said, without much concern.
"Dang it, man! That Karsh sure is something. I still wonder how I was able to survive that fight." Serge commented.
"Oi, mate, simple. You were fighting alongside the great Kid!"
"That's probably because Poshul showed up…hey Leena, did you actually send her on purpose?"
"Actually, yes. I saw them heading for Cape howl and I didn't want them to hurt you too badly, so I decided to send Poshul."
"Best idea you had!"
"When I saw that Poshul liked you, I knew that I could trust you. She doesn't befriend anyone."
Then the advertiser's voice yelled that Karsh had made the decisive stroke and had won the match. The crowd began to scatter as the voice also mentioned that this was the last match for today.
"Oi, what do ya'll say we find an inn? We'll need rest if we want to make it to Viper manor tomorrow."
The travelers began searching the streets for an inn. They spotted one near the entrance. It was a very small inn with only six rooms. The owner was a woman clad in a red dress covered by a white apron. On each blue door was a buoy. Leena headed over to the counter to book a room for the night. Inside the room were three cozy beds with dark-blue sheets. Each traveler sat on a bed and was silent for a moment.
"Oi, you know, mate, I'm a little worried about you." Kid said, concern on her face.
"Hm?" Serge raised his head to look at her.
"Last time you… had only one lady around you and your head nearly exploded. Now that you have two, I wonder what you'll do." She said, her expression changing to a grin.
Serge pretended to just ignore her, but slowly grabbed his pillow and threw it at Kid, now smiling too.
"Oi, mate, that means war."
Kid threw Serge's pillow right back at him before grabbing her own pillow to deliver a forceful blow to Serge's head.
"Not in my habits to avoid a fight." He said, getting in fighting stance.
"Stop it, you two. This room's on me and I don't want to be paying for a wrecked room." Leena yelled.
"Oi, c'mon girl, don't be such a goody-two-shoes. Serge here loosened up a bit and I'm bloody sure he's enjoying this trip much more than you are.
"Unlike you, girl, I'm not the easy type and just to make sure, I'll be taking the middle bed so you two might manage to keep everything in one piece until tomorrow morning." Leena said, dropping her things on the bed.
"Well, Sergei, looks like you're not sleeping between two beauties tonight." Kid said, teasingly.
"I think I'll survive this." Serge said, dropping his head on his pillow.
Leena blew off the candles and all went to sleep. Luckily for them, the temperature had dropped and they were able to get a good rest. Kid was the first one to wake up the next morning. She began packing her things noisily, which woke up Serge and Leena.
"Damn it, do you know what time it is?" Serge said, grumpily.
"Ya, but this is no bloody vacation! You two've got to get up. Lots of stuff to do today."
Serge and Leena got out of bed reluctantly. They packed their things and left the inn.
"First thing first, you need a new weapon mate. We're heading for the forge." Kid announced, looking at Serge.
The Termina forge was a very renowned shop. Its owner had the reputation of being so serious about weapon forging that he was known for starting all over if a sound was heard during the process. The building itself was very modest: wooden counter, a few weapons on display and two chairs for people who needed to rest their legs while the work was done. Serge was greeted by a woman of around fifty years of age. She had long grey hair and a bright smile on her face.
"Hi, uh, I was wondering if you could reforge it with steel." He said, placing the two pieces of his broken swallow on the counter.
The woman took them and inspected them for a moment.
"Will you excuse me for a moment." She said, the pieces still in her hands.
She entered the back room where a man of a strong built was turned to a blast-furnace, a hammer in his right-hand. He was pounding repeatedly on a piece of steel. Abruptly, he stopped and replaced his hammer. He turned and headed toward the woman.
"What is it?" he asked, wiping the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Look at the inscription." She said, handing the man the broken weapon.
The blacksmith took the broken pieces and directed his gaze toward the blades. On one he found a G and a R carved in the copper. His eyes widened.
"You really think this could be…" he voice trailed off.
"I'm sure. It has to be. How could it be otherwise? There can't be two of those in the world."
The man observed the weapon for a moment and left the back room followed by the woman.
"This is yours, kid? He asked Serge.
"Yeah! So, can you reforge it?"
"You're underestimating this old blacksmith kid. Look, let's make a deal. I keep those and I forge you a brand-new swallow made of pure steel for free. Whadda ya say?"
Serge took a moment to consider the offer before answering. His swallow was something dear to him, but on another side, they would save up loads of money if he accepted the offer. Kid and Leena stood there waiting for Serge's answer.
"Alright" he finally said, shaking the man's hand.
"Ye won't regret it boy." The man said, returning to the back room.
"Come back this afternoon, it'll be ready." The woman said.
The three left the shop.
"Oi, now let's split up. You two'll go to the element shop and get us some spicy stuff in case we run into those dragoon-arses again. I'll go to the hardware store to get some equipment."
Kid departed leaving Serge and Leena standing in front of the blacksmith. Serge and Leena also walked away toward the element shop.
"She's quite something, don't you think? I mean, she's nice, but she's… you know…" Leena's voice trailed off.
"A real tomboy?" Serge cut her off.
"Well, put it that way, I guess it's a bit true, but still she must be kind-hearted. She saved you from those soldiers even if it was really dangerous." Leena said, crossing her arms.
"You also did help me by sending Poshul, didn't you?"
"I guess so." She said, nodding.
"Ah, here we are!" Serge said, taking a look at the sign that read Lisa's element shop.
In a way, Serge wasn't sure if he would really like what would most probably happen. The Leena he knew had always been better than him with elements and never missed a chance to lecture him on how to improve his skills, which elements to buy, how to get the most out of every element and such.
Leena instantly headed over to the counter to be greeted by a blonde woman.
"Hi, Lisa, how are you?"
"Oh, hi, Leena. I'm good, what about? Is it a new headband? It sure looks great."
"Oh thanks. Atually I had it for a long time. I just tied a few beads to it."
Seeing where this conversation was headed, Serge decided he would do the shopping himself. Actually, he certainly preferred this to a lecture from Leena. Looking around, he spotted several interesting elements. He'd just have to decide himself which elements to buy.
Aquaballs…Fire pillars…Tablets…Medicines…Bushbashers…Curepluses…Upheavals… Photon rays…Meteorites…
Something struck him. There were very few white elements and not a single black element. Serge decided that they would just have to deal with this and he grabbed some elements from the shelves before heading to the counter. He spotted Leena who was still chatting with the owner, her back turned to him. Not sure what to say, he just stood there for a moment, waiting for her to turn around.
"Uh, will you excuse me Leena. I think your friend wants to buy these." The owner said shyly.
Leena turned to Serge and saw his hands filled with glimmering beads.
"Oh…oh, sorry Serge, it's just that…"
"It's okay." He cut her off, proceeding to put the elements on the counter and reaching for his money.
Once outside, Leena tried to apologize again.
"Really Serge, I feel sorry for not helping you at all."
"Don't worry." He said, rolling his eyes. "I know you women can't live without this anyway."
"I guess, but I'm not going to let you down anymore."
"It's okay Leena, I'm not mad at you or anything. Now let's just find Kid."
"Looking for me mates?" Kid said, landing in front of them.
"Yeah! So, what did you get?" Serge asked.
"Take a bloody good look at what I bought." Kid said, producing a rope, a hook and some stones.
"What are those stones for?" Leena asked, puzzled.
"We'll have our mate Sergei, here, carry them in his backpack. We'll make a bloody man out of him."
Serge just raised an eyebrow, fully aware of what the stones were for.
"Alright, kidding. These are sharpening stones. They can sharpen our weapons. Not as efficient as a real millstone, but they can still be useful."
"By the way, I didn't know thieves bought their stuff sometimes." Serge commented.
"Don't worry mate. You'll have a chance to see my skills in action tonight."
"What?" Leena exclaimed.
"Oi, c'mon girl. I already explained that we weren't going to knock first."
"Yeah, well breaking in is something, but stealing from the manor could get all of us in serious trouble…plus I believe stealing is wrong."
"Look, you're still free to leave girl." Kid said, fiercely.
"I'm not leaving. I said that I'd come and I'm coming."
"Alright, but no more complaining. Alright, now time to find to way to get in this bloody stronghold."
"What? You mean you don't know how to get in?" Serge said, astounded.
"Oi, never stopped me before mate." Kid replied.
"In this case we'd better get searching now."
"Bloody right mate. I say we head over that restaurant. Good chances we might meet someone with info."
The three headed for the massive stairway that led to the uppermost street where the restaurant was located. On their way they saw a corpulent lady selling pets to what were obviously window-shopping kids. A boy was holding what seemed to be a very small monkey. Suddenly a male teenager landed gracefully on top of a large water-tank that contained several exotic fish. The teenager was wearing a bright red speedo, a pair of black-leather gloves and a matching vest. His ankles were taped for protection. His red hair was done in a Mohawk cut. Two black stripes were painted on his cheeks and a leather necklace was hanging in his neck.
"Leave them alone! Animals are not made to live in cages!" he yelled at the kids.
"Yikes! It's Korcha! Run!" said the girl.
Both kids scrambled away and Korcha was left alone with an infuriated woman that weighted at least twice his weight. Her face had turned a bright red. She grabbed a broom and began swinging it frantically at the teenager.
"You little monster! Get away from my stand! You scare my customers!" she yelled, unable to land a blow on the boy, who was moving with the agility of a cat.
"Ha! Serves cha right, you old hag!" the boy said, before jumping in a dugout canoe that was waiting down below.
"Oi, mate, you called for the go-go boy?" Kid said, turning to Serge.
"Who the hell is he? That has got to be the weirdest outfit I've seen." Serge said, catching sight of the teenager.
"Oh, that's Korcha. He's from Guldove. He always comes here to educate people about the well-being of animals. Personally, I think he's quite right about caging animals." Leena explained.
"Oi, just seeing his outfit's pretty scary. C'mon now, let's find that restaurant, I'm starving."
After traveling a few meters, Kid felt a hand grab her arm.
"You seem to have a very particular destiny, young lady! Oh, yes! I feel so much energy swirling around you! May I use my skills to tell your fortune?" said a short old man with dark skin and wearing a turban.
"Oi, you let me go now, you crook, because I foresee that your arse'll kiss the bloody moons if you don't do so." Kid snapped, freeing her arm violently.
The old man simply walked back inside his tent, apparently taking no offense of the comment.
It took them a few more minutes of walking to reach a bar named The Dragon's Tail. All of them entered, eager to enjoy a good meal. The inside was rather dark. There were no windows and the only light came from two candelabras that hung from the ceiling. Several round wooden tables were spread in the room. A corpulent man with several empty dishes was calling for the waitress, his hunger apparently not yet satisfied.
"Oi, you two just get a table and order us some squid gut pasta. I'll take care of the rest." Kid said, leaving Serge and Leena.
"What a fiery temper she has, don't you know think?" Leena asked, obviously referring to Kid.
"Yeah, I have to admit that she can give a good show out there."
"She really doesn't care about hurting people's feelings, uh?"
"Oh, come on, that man was probably just a crook. I mean, no one can really foresee he future." Serge said, apparently taking Kid's side.
Leena didn't answer and instead turned her head to see where Kid was now. Leena spotted her talking to two men that showed clear signs of having sailed under the orders of a pirate before. One of them had a hook for a hand and a huge scar of his right forearm while the other had a peg for a leg and a patch over his left eye.
"Oi, so you're bloody sure we can reach it by the sea, after climbing the cliff?" the thief asked.
"Aye, lass! The sea leads everywhere, even in Viper manor." The one with a hook answered.
"Ye'll need a good ship however lass. Careful, 'cause big one will be spotted and too small ones will get swallowed by the waves."
Kid threw a purse filled with gold on the men's table and left to rejoin Serge and Leena.
"Too bad, looks like I won't be able to eat yours as well" Serge said.
Kid sat down and elbowed him in the ribs. Serge just clutched his torso and turned his gaze to her, waiting for a summary of her previous conversation.
"Oi, they say we can reach the manor by climbing the cliff behind it if we have a boat."
"Where are we gonna get a boat?" Serge asked.
"Oi, I could steal one from the docks, but it would be spotted right away, too big."
"I think I spotted one near the shrines. It's not too big, but I think it could handle the waves. However, just do me a favour and don't steal it. We surely have enough money to rent it or something." Leena said, reprehensively.
"Oi, alright, alright, miss goody-two-shoes. I'm not gonna steal it. Happy now?"
"Yeah." Leena said, frowning.
The three left the bar and headed for the shrines. The area was separated from the rest of the city by a river over which a wooden bridge had been built. After crossing the bridge, Leena stopped to stare at Riddel Viper and Glenn who were kneeling in front of a sword sunk in the ground.
"Oi, you know those two?" Kid asked.
"Yes. They're miss Riddel and sir Glenn. They often come here to pray next to sir Dario's and sir Garai's grave." Leena said in a voice full of sympathy.
"Oi, whatever." Kid said, looking around, trying to spot the boat.
"I think it must be the one." Serge said, pointing to a dugout canoe next to which was kneeling Korcha.
Kid jumped down on the shore followed by Serge.
"Oi, you gogo-boy, that boat's to you?" Kid asked.
The teenager got up and answered without turning to face her.
"Cha name's Korcha, that boat belongs to me and in case Cha're interested, you're outfit really reminds me of the one I saw on some stripper last week." He said, grinning and finally turning to face them.
"Oi, I'm gonna show you how to talk to a lady, you bloke." Kid snapped, reaching for her dagger.
She was stopped just in time by Leena who grasped her arm. Kid struggled a bit, but calmed down. Serge approached Korcha, embarrassed by Kid's behaviour.
"Eh, look, I'm sorry, uh, we were wondering if you could rent us your boat." He asked, scratching the back of his head.
Korcha just stared at him for a moment and then spoke.
"Let's make a deal. I give you the boat for free if your fiery friend over there becomes my wife."
Serge was taken aback by the proposal, but before he could answer, he found himself clutching his shin, trying to suppress a sharp pain in his lower leg. Kid was now inches from Korcha, burning with anger.
"Oi, you listen to me, keep your bloody boat, cuz there'll be yellow-dotted heckrans before I marry you." She yelled, pushing back the teenager and walking away.
Serge and Leena just stared at her and then decided to go after her.
"Geez, that's what I call aggressive negotiations." Serge said.
"Oi, you're kidding I hope. I'd never even touch a weirdo like that."
Suddenly they all stopped upon seeing a man with long purple hair, wearing a white outfit and a yellow mask over the upper portion of his face resting against the wooden bridge. He had obviously heard their conversation and was smiling at them.
"Oi, what do ya want? Stop staring at me like that or I'll kick your arse so bad you'll kiss the moons." Kid yelled at the man.
The man, however, just stared at her some more, his smile slowly fading.
"Please forgive me. I didn't mean to overhear anything, but you were making such a ruckus down there." He said, in a very calm voice.
Serge, Kid and Leena simply stared at him, waiting for further explanation.
"It seems that are looking for a way to break into Viper manor…" but he was cut off by Serge
"But how do you…?" Serge began to ask, but he too was cut off.
"I was also at The Dragon's Tail."
"Oi, and you say you didn't mean to overhear anything." Kid snapped.
"Oh, I ask for your forgiveness, but you see, I also have business to attend in Viper manor and I know of a way inside. However, I could certainly use some help. So I'm suggesting that we team up. What do you think?"
Leena looked at Serge, who turned his gaze to Kid.
"Oi… alright, but if I catch you spying of me again, I'll really kick your sorry arse."
"Excellent, you can call me Guile." The man said, extending his hand.
The new party then proceeded to the introductions.
"It is already late. If we want to reach the manor by dusk, we'd better get going." Guile suggested.
"Oi, before there's just one last thing to take care of: picking up Sergey's new and improved swallow!" Kid said, thrusting her fist in the air.
Serge was thrilled at the suggestion as he was eager to be holding a real steel swallow.
Once in the forge, they were greeted by the same woman who met them the first time.
"Your weapon's ready. If you'll give me a minute."
She went to the back room and came back with the blacksmith, who was holding an oblong-shaped object rolled up in a purple velvet piece of cloth. The man unwrapped the present, which revealed Serge's new weapon. It was a magnificent weapon. Thin, but solid handle coupled with two flame-shaped steel blades.
The blacksmith handed Serge the weapon and the boy's arm slumped down under the unexpected weight of the steel swallow.
"Aye, son, first time you hold a real weapon? Don' worry, you'll get used to it!" barked the buff man.
Serge re-gripped the weapon more firmly this time. It felt really solid. Serge thanked the blacksmith and exited the forge along with the others.
"With this baby, I'm sure to be able to defend myself if those dragoons come after me again." Serge said, still grasping his new weapon, smiling brightly.
"Oi, it's funny how men tend to see their weapon as the extension of what hangs between their legs." Kid commented, a teasing smile on her face.
Serge blushed furiously, looking down at his weapon. He realized he was holding it at waist-length, pointing straight forward. Leena burst into laughter and Guile chuckled at the comment. Serge immediately switched to holding the weapon with one hand, next to his body.
"Oi, so, Guile, how are we supposed to get inside that manor." Kid asked, once everybody had regained their composure.
"Simple. There's an old passageway that connects the forest to the east and the dryed-up well of the manor."
"Are you sure there won't be guards?" Leena asked.
"I don't think there will be any guards. This pass is very old and very few people know of it."
"Oi, anyway, if they're like the ones we've already met, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Well, it's settled then. Viper manor, here we come." Serge said.