“What in the fires are you doing here, Karza?” Gordo snarled, g his teeth as green smoke escaped through the ers of his lips.

  “I didn’t expeeet you here,” Karza admitted. “I came to annoy an old friend of mine, but what luck, I get to annoy two friends of mine.”

  “You’re a thorn in my side.”

  “So you’re saying I’m a beautiful rose? I’m sorry, but you’re too green for me.”

  Gordo snorted out mreen smoke, which dissipated in the air. “You’re fortuhe Aswadian ws protect you.”

  “You’re lucky I’m not going to cause you any trouble this time,” Karza said. “How’s your forest?”

  “It’s fine, and unweling to you.”

  “I’ve kept my word so far. I haven’t e in the past decade, unless yoing to tell me that this outpost stitutes your forest?”

  “As long as you stay on the ship, you’ll find yourself safe from the tip of a spear.”

  “What if I want to-,”

  “Karza, shut the fuck up before I beat you,” a voice finally broke through the air, as his brow pulsed heavier. “Lordo, if you want to beat her up, I’ll help you.”

  “Finally, a good fae folk,” Gordo said, sniffing the air. ‘Why does he smell so weird?’

  “Only half,” Adam replied.

  “Morky, tell that friend of yours he better be careful with his tone.”

  “Jaygak, that blue dragon is ag awfully uppity in front of you,” Adam said.

  “You should uand when and when not to cause trouble,” Jaygak warned, speaking to the pair of them, before her eyes fell onto Karza. “If anything happens to my niece or nephew while on this trip, it won’t just be the Gryns we Gaks will hunt.”

  “You Iyrmen would o chase us feions if you want to hunt us down.”

  “I only pray we will have such good fortune.”

  “…” Karza swallowed slightly, feeling the hair on the back of her o stand on end. “You’re lucky these fine Iyrmen are here to keep me at bay, Gordo.”

  “You had better remember that,” Gordo replied, letting out another huff, before he stepped back towards the railing. However, before he could tinue, Jurot held out a spear ed within the cloth. The dragon bowed his head, accepting the scarf and spear, before he bent backwards and fell off the ship, the distant spsh revealing he had ehe sea in his half dragon form.

  “Are green dragons good at swimming?” Adam asked.

  “Yes,” Jaygak replied simply.

  “He is better at flying, and so am I,” Karza said. “You should remember that the ime you think your axe strike me.”

  Adam smiled slightly. “So you are.”

  Karza exged a look with Morkarai, w what Adam was talking about, while the fire giant thought about the way Adam could keep up with the dragon.

  ‘Oh.’

  Karza didn’t like the look on the realisation on the fire giant’s face. ‘Eh?’

  The green dragoually left them be, flying away in the distance they were further along. Many hours ter, the ship approached the Dragon’s Maw, where the nd of Aswadasad allowed the o to ehrough only a few miles, f a small sea within.

  “Captain,” a sailor called, carrying a rge chest, which strained his thick forearms.

  The Captain, an old man with a bald head, a grizzled face, and a stark white beard, opehe chest, noting all the silver s within, allowing its st to float out towards the o. He reached into his ragged shirt, and he pulled out a leather pouch which had rested against his heart. He kissed the poud tossed it into the chest, before shutting the chest.

  “Send it overboard,” the Captain said, while many of the soldiers approached the railing, pg their hands over their hearts, watg as the sailor tossed the chest within the o. ‘There goes our beautiful booty.’ Siears fell down the sailor’s cheeks as they spent a mianding at the railing, before quickly returning back to their work.

  “What’s that all about?”

  “Tribute for the dragon turtle,” Jaygak informed, biting into a nut, chewing it slowly.

  “ht, silly me,” Adam replied sarcastically. ‘Of course it’s tribute for a dragon turtle, what else would it be?’

  The days on the ship tinued, with the group passing by several towns and a fort, where they picked up a few soldiers who were making their way to the regional capital, still a couple of days away from the regional capital.

  The Captai his mouth shut as the rowdy soldiers eheir freedom, finally able to return back to the after their season within the fort.

  The Aswadians spoke between one another, motioning their heads towards the coalskinned red haired fellow and the mermen, before the mermen spoke up. The Aswadians smiled, standing up to approach the mermen and the coalskinned red haired fellow.

  The Aswadian soldiers coaxed the mermen, chug between themselves, before the mermen spoke, and quickly the soldiers straightened up, staring at the fire giant Prihey quickly retreated away from them.

  Adam sighed, staring out towards the sea. They were getting further away from where they wao be, but he had signed up knowing that, sihe ship would allow them to rest up at the towns they approached, especially from now on.

  An Aswadian soldier called out towards Adam and Jaygak, approag the pair. One of them said something, gring towards Adam.

  “What did he say?” Adam asked, towards a nearby sailor.

  “He is asking why you were ughing.”

  “I wasn’t ughing, I was w about my wife.”

  The sailor transted, and the soldier replied, causing the other soldiers to ugh.

  “What did he say?”

  “He said you do not o worry, since he keeps her pany well,” the sailor replied, hiding his smirk.

  Adam pushed his tongue against the back of his teeth. He cracked his neck both ways, but he uood it was stupid to do anything to the Aswadian soldiers.

  “Dogson,” Jaygak said, causing the others to gowards her. “Go on. Tell him what I said.”

  “…”

  “You should do it before I push you off the ship,” Jaygak threatehe sailor, still staring into the soldier’s eyes.

  “Ibn kalb,” the sailor said.

  The soldiers sheir heads towards the Iyrman, stepping up towards her, narrowing their eyes towards the young woman.

  “You better watouth, you are not in the Iyr any more,” the sailor transted.

  “Or else what?” Jaygak replied. “It was only a few years ago we Iyrmen cut down hundreds of your soldiers, and your Shen hid within his pace, afraid to even look our way like a beaten pup.”

  “You speak dangerous words, devilkin, for one who is outnumbered five to one.”

  “Iyrman,” Jaygak corrected. “You need five Aswadians to look within an Iyrman’s eyes, you need five more to fight an Iyrman.”

  The soldier spat onto the floor, befrowling a set of words towards her.

  “Lick the deck , and I will five you.”

  “The only thing dirty upon the deck are the ten cowards before me,” Jaygak replied, rubbing her knuckles against her palm. “That kind of dirt only be ed by fire.”

  The soldiers narrowed their eyes, but before something could explode, Morkarai stepped towards the group.

  “Do you have any issues with my escorts?” Morkarai asked.

  “No,” the sailor transted, before the soldiers pulled back, heading towards their rooms.

  Adam let out a sigh of relief. “Damn, Jaygak, you don’t mess about.”

  “Sometimes the Aswadiao be remihat they we Iyrmen leave them be out of choiot out of fear,” Jaygak said, watg as the soldiers left. “We should head back.”

  The soldiers each sat within the rge room where they bunked for the few days before they would return back to the capital.

  “The Iyrmeoo much, Muzim,” the soldier said to his officer, the Muzim. “They called me a dogson. Dogson!”

  The Muzim shook his head. “They think they speak so freely upon our nds? Noor take them, I will see if they speak so freely to-,”

  The sounds of the door unlog caused a sileo fall across the room, before the handle slowly turned, and the door creaked open to reveal a figure. Tall, handsome, with hair which fell to his shoulders, and a set of blue tattoos across his forehead. A devilkin Iyrman followed behind him, before another human Iyrman stepped in, closing the door behind her, before it was locked from outside.

  Jurot didn’t care that the soldiers each stood, pg hands on their short bdes. “Whie was it.”

  “That one,” Jaygak replied, motioning towards the soldier she reised.

  Jurot stepped up towards him, feeling the soldiers tense up, but he stared into the soldiers eyes. “You should pray your Muzim transtes my words for you correctly.”

  “If you wish to speak to me, you may,” the Muzim said, approag the Iyrman, before Jaygak stepped forward, her hand csped over her magical bde. “You, a devilkin, wish to stop me.”

  “You goatherders need some more inal insults for me,” Jaygak replied.

  “The journey across the sea is perilous,” Jurot began, staring into the soldier’s eyes. “You should be careful you do not find yourself at the bottom of the sea because you acted like an Aswadian around us.”

  “You ot threaten us,” the Muzim said.

  “You should transte while I still allow you to,” Jurot said.

  “Do you beli-,”

  “If I hear that any of the soldiers speak ill of my brother or sister again, I will gut your Muzim like a fish, and I will hang him by his entrails,” Jurot warned. “My grandfather spent his time in Aldnd killing many nobles, and even today he lives. We will see if I do the same in Aswadasad, if your Faro thinks she punish me for teag you a lesson, or we will see if she is as wise as the Shen and will hide within the walls of her home, her head bowed when she hears that Jurot, the Savage, walks freely in her city.”

  “You should hope the story will py out as you say, Iyrman,” the Muzim said.

  “Do you uand?” Jurot asked.

  “Leave, while I still show you mercy.”

  Jurot remained focused on the soldier in front of him. “Unlock the door.”

  The door unlocked, and the sound of the sailor’s footsteps quickly disappeared, not wanting to be marked by the soldiers. Kitool opehe door with her staff, before stepping out, with Jaygak followed after her, and Jurot turning his back to the soldiers, leaving, the Muzim holding his hand up to stop his soldiers from doing anything. Silence fell the group for a long moment as they heard the Iyrmen’s footsteps heading away.

  “We will see if they act so thoughtless wheurn,” the Muzim assured.

  It was in the middle of the night when the Muzim found his answer, when the sudden yelping and shocked cries awakened him, while the figures, illuminated by the bright light of a bde, beat the soldiers within the span of moments, knog them out before the scuffle could grow too loud, with the devilkiing four, the young womaing another five, while Jurot’s axe spped against the side of the Muzim’s head, dazing him. Jurot grabbed the Muzim by his colr, a hand over his mouth as the Iyrman dragged an officer of the Aswadian army towards the railing. Jurot gripped the back of the officer’s hair, gripping it tight in hand, the Muzim barely able to see the sea uhe starlight.

  “Do you uand?” Jurot whispered into his ear.

  The Muzim’s heart pounded within his chest as he stared down into the sea. “I uand.”

  “Pray to Noor.”

  “What?”

  Jurot slowly pushed the Muzim’s head over the railing, before the officer began to splutter and stutter out a prayer.

  “Oh, Noor! All glory is due to you! I praise you! Your name is blessed above all, your majesty is highly exalted, and as the dawn’s rays-,”

  Jurot pulled the Muzim back by his hair again, and the Muzim stared up at the Iyrman’s face, barely illuminated by the stars. “Whe to port, tell her.”

  “Wh-what?” the Muzim managed between his panting.

  “Tell your Faro what I have doell her that the grandson of the Mad Dog beat her soldiers, and tell her that if she wishes, he will tio kill all those she sends to capture him. Tell her. Do you uand?”

  “I-I uand!”

  Jurot pushed the Muzim forward. “It is not Baktu, nor Noor, who has chosen you to live this day, but I, Jurot, he who the Aldish call the Savage.”

  Lucy remained silent as she watched the Muzim pant and stumble his way back to his room. “Why do you have to be so scary?”

  “It has been some time since we Iyrmen have caused a mess in the Aswadian nds.”

  “Did you have to pick a fight now, whehing’s so stressful?”

  “The Prince will vouch for us, or we will sacrifice the Aswadians to ensure a healthy birth,” Jurot replied, in such a way that Luderstood the Iyrman was pletely serious.

  ‘Scary!’

  I fot I wrote this and scared myself.