Heroes of Time Legends: Murdoch's Shadow by Kramer Wayne D

Author:Kramer, Wayne D.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heroes of Time Productions
Published: 2022-10-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Joint Venture

9/20/3203 P.A.

One week of sailing was behind them. Sunrays of the new lull season sprayed gentle warmth over the deck of the Queenie. Starlina stood against the starboard taffrail that afternoon, soaking in the sunlight.

They had been blessed with fair weather, allowing for impressive progress given the lack of crew. Yesterday they rounded the southern tip of Grandtrilia. Today, on the twentieth of Sleptindor, they passed due west of Metsada Palace, the seat of Tuscawny’s king.

By all accounts, the famed Light of the Land was within that site and the star-shaped plateau of Alpha Makutu upon which the palace sat.

Starlina stared at the distant palace turrets which jabbed at the sky from its lofty perch. There, within a legendary holy hall, were the supposed Gifts of Zophiel, the vessels of divine energy which sanctified the land and held it together. Within these objects—the Throne of Light and the holy sword called Blaze—was the very Light that her father had tried to protect from Vidimir, back when he made his choice to toss the Grimstone to the sea.

In pondering it all, she shook her head. The Grimstone—discarded to save the land, once again their bounty to keep their home from being destroyed. There was no telling how it would all end. Starlina harbored a growing sense that they were all in this well over their heads.

“Everyone in the cabin and ready,” said Kasper, halfway up from quarterdeck.

Starlina was to join a meeting with Kasper, Dippy, Boomer, and Dolion to discuss their destination and plan of action. It was her choice to be there. Despite never being an official part of the crew, no one protested her involvement. In fact, they even seemed to welcome it.

She was grateful for that. It gave her a sense of purpose and belonging during a time when she felt otherwise like her entire reality was being ripped out from beneath her. Jensen was no longer here with her—supposedly he hadn’t been all along—and the emptiness she felt was profound.

Yet, she held to the hope that both her fiancé and her father were out there somewhere, and that hope made her more determined than ever.

“How far away is it?” she asked Kasper. “The Palace.”

He pulled at his thick beard while staring in the distance. “Oh, I believe about seventy miles or so. We can only see it because of how high it is.”

“I’ve heard it’s the most beautiful place ever to exist in the kingdom, and the most magical.”

Kasper snorted. “Of course it is.”

“You miss Evette, don’t you?” Over the days of their voyage, she had caught him on several occasions sitting quietly at Evette’s usual station among the rowing benches.

He was silent for a long moment. For many of these thick-skinned sailors, it took time for any emotions to rise to the surface.

“She can handle herself,” he finally said. “Probably out there saving your father’s hide more than a time or two.”

“I suspect you’re right,” she replied with a smile.

She entered the cabin behind Kasper and closed the door.

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