84 Middle of Nowhere (1/2)
A heavy sigh escaped Atau's lips. It was the latest of many he had gone through over the past two weeks. He looked over the lived-in tent with the improvised furniture and finally back to the letter in his hand, the one they had received this morning.
”What do we do now, captain?”
In the end, Atau's eyes landed on the worried messenger who had brought the bad news. A sharp nose, high-brows and well-kept appearance, not at all like a sailor. Ivo, one of his own men, his first mate. Though for the lords of Medala, it made no difference who led him. The men in his camp were all nothing but foreigners, and the second son of the southern governor had been grouped with them.
”Go tell the quack to come over, and fatso as well. We'll need to make some emergency plans.”
”Aye, aye captain!” Energetic as always, Ivo returned a proper salute before he left to complete his orders.
As he waited for his guests to arrive, Atau looked back down to the paper with the short, impolite message and out of the tent, over to the distant walls of the city which had sent it. The town of Kapra, placed along the Mayura river, the main artery through central Sachay. Making it up to here had been a struggle all in itself, though the fatty's impatience hadn't helped matters.
”Captain, did were receive word from the lord of the land?” A middle-aged man brushed aside the tent flap with his gangly arms. Though it was already opened, His height would always make things more difficult for him and the shabby tent wasn't built with larger men in mind.
Ah, Ronnie. Come in, sit.” With the letter in his hand, Atau pointed over to a barrel on the ground. Without any proper supplies, they had to improvise most anything, even the chairs.
His movements awkward as always, the lanky alchemist took a seat and used his spindly fingers to brush the streaky carpet of coal-black hair from his eyes.
”What does the message say? Can we move ahead?” Ronnie asked with a nod towards the letter in Atau's hand.
Managing to suppress a bitter smile on his face, Atau retained his calm. A leader always had to seem in control. It was the hardest lesson he had learned in his years at sea, paid in blood.
”That's not the case, sadly. Lord Ogulno's son has sent back message, but according to this, he considers us foreign invaders, so he won't to let us camp near the city. He won't even let us buy supplies.”
”What?” The alchemist looked up, his long beard shook as his face spasmed in panic. ”That can't be! The artisans are already jumpy. They have been promised a king's welcome, riches and honor! Instead, they got months out in the open sea. Ever since we left the coast, we have done nothing but travel through cold, harsh hills and slept in the wild to the sound of howling wolves. If I cannot bring good news, and soon, I cannot guarantee that all men will remain willing to uphold their part of the deal.”
Atau grinned in response. ”So what will they do then, turn bandit? Good luck with that, is all I can say. They'll get eaten by the wolves before they can even make it to a village. So you best keep your people looking sharp, for their own sake. The waters of Medala are deep. If a handful of craftsmen dropped in, they wouldn't even make a splash.
”And what if we add my people to bolster the numbers?” a dissenting voice came from outside.
The gruff man forced his way into the tent with a turn of his body. Entering anything was a challenge for him, since he was as wide as Ronnie was tall. In the end, the cramped space became even smaller as it now housed a man large enough for two.
”Mason, are you trying to threaten me?”
”So what if I am? Your boss should take care of us. That was the deal. You break the deal, we're not gonna follow command. That's our code.”
Atau stood up himself, to look at the shorter man from above. The top of the tent brushing over his black hair did nothing to alleviate the wild, imposing aura emitted from the sun-burnt captain. As usual, the fat treasurer of the mercenaries loved to push the boundaries and fish for benefits, but Atau wasn't in the mood for games. He just stared at the little man until he sat down on the remaining barrel-stool with a meek ”it's true though”.
”First off,” the still standing Atau looked down on the small man as he spoke. He would stamp his foot down today, and show the greedy mercenary his limits. ”Your code is 'do whatever you can get away with'. Unlike your boss, you're a bandit, not a knight. I also wonder just what that boss is gonna think when he learns that his fatso friend claimed the wolves for himself and planned a revolt.” Mason's cheeks began to quiver. The only thing he feared more than death itself was his own boss Dedrick. Thus, the mercenary captain was also the only man who could ever control him.
”In the end, it's your damn fault we ended up in this mess.”
”No captain, that was just-” The fatty stood up to defend himself, but Atau let himself down again with a heavy thud. The sudden movement and loud noise alone was enough to sap all courage from the man with the heart of a mouse. Flustered, he sacked onto his seat as well. However, his weight and the uneven ground did him no favors and his lack of balance did the final part. Under loud clatter and a terrified shriek, the treasurer's barrel tripped over and dropped him on the floor. Atau leaned over the table, just another large barrel, and looked down to the grounded whale.
”That was just... what? Our plan was to take your nine hundred leftover men, together with the craftsmen, the Fastgrade people and the special supplies, and move them from Port Ulta in the south all the way through Sachay and into Puscanacra. Everything was going to plan too. We made it south without trouble. Favorable winds, despite the harsh current. You have an idea how rare that is on the east coast? We land by Port Ulta and of course it's gonna be difficult.