43 Chapter forty-three: Return Home
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~~~Micaela, eighth moon, 276 AC~~~
~~~Summer Sea~~~
The distant sound of the waves crashing against the strong hull of the huge ship I was on reached my ears, with the salty breeze stirring my hair in the air, this being perhaps the first time I showed my hair.
After a long, tiring, and extensive expedition in that green hell known as Sothoryos, and having managed to fulfill our orders, we were now on our way home, a moon and a half away from the place we now called home took its toll on us.
Woke up every day in the not-so-comfortable bunks wishing we were in feather beds and running water from the tap, and not deep in a hot and humid jungle, a place that even made the goats, hardy and extremely resilient animals, stressed daily from being in a new and dangerous place.
And boy, Sothoryos was that place, of course, not at the level of the caves or abandoned mines, places that served as refuge from the terrors of the night, not to mention the neder, but still, that thick, endless jungle had its dangers lurking.
Being only a few minutes away from the Gulf of Grief, I decided to enter my cabin and begin to sort through the many grimoires and journals I wrote about my experience and view of the jungles of Sothoryos, the number of things my sisters and I discovered during our short stay there was more than enlightening.
One of those discoveries was those huge creatures with very long necks and tails, their huge size and enormous weight, lizards similar to crocodiles but with their skin much thicker and more massive in size, or the other flying species with large beaks and more than three meters high.
Those and many more creatures of enormous size and extremely dangerous lived in that place, even so, the society that lived there was the one that caused me to pressure my men to do our orders as fast as possible and return home in the shortest time possible.
That society of warriors mounted on fierce creatures, which, together with their superior knowledge of their environment, caused several of the unsullied to die, since they even managed to control various animals of the jungle, both titanic snakes, even the vegetation itself to fight alongside them.
It was something new and fascinating to see, one of the many wonders this world had to offer, things I hoped to learn about and document as well, and thinking of Valyria, that destination where I would soon go to find an important creature for Xandar's army, made my skin crawl just thinking of the adventures that would await me.
"Uuuuh!" a loud sound brought me out of my thoughts, making me frown, "pirates," I said aloud, knowing such a signal perfectly, thanks to the many times we encountered pirates when passing through the Basilisk islands.
"General" Gregory, the unsullied one who held the post of admiral of the flagship I was on, opened the door once he introduced himself, "Pirates, with New Ghis flags, twenty ships ahoy."
Nodding, I left my grimoires and journals on the table and followed Gregory to the upper deck of the ship. From there, without the need for the spyglasses, I could see several vessels heading in our direction, having no parliamentary or peace sails.
"Have all ships ready, scorpions and crossbows ready, transmit the message" I ordered Gregory, who went up to the deck where the command of the ship and the women of the drums were, who began to play them to a specific rhythm and melody, transmitting the orders given by me through the sound of the drums.
On the flagship, I watched as the unsullied prepared the scorpions, huge beacons with the power to launch five two-meter bolts at the same time. As well as having their enchanted bows ready for possible future confrontation.
It was not but ten minutes later that the New Ghis ships met ours, and just as I thought, they were ready to attack us, the truth sometimes I wondered if the people of this world had a will of steel, or were just stupid.
One of the ships approached mine, and having a bad feeling, I gave the order not to attack with the scorpions and rays to avoid sinking the ship, deciding better to go myself to investigate first that it was not about slave traders and thus avoid killing them in the crossfire.
So covering my hair with my garments, I ingested a potion of invisibility, super jump, and feather fall, and without wasting time, I launched myself from the place where I was, covering the twenty meters that separated me from the other boat in a matter of seconds.
"Plaf" the wood of the ship's deck creaked once I landed on it, though thanks to the feather drop potion, the sound was not loud and went unnoticed.
Once I pulled myself together, I looked around, seeing that there were twenty-four men on deck, carrying bows and swords, and without restraint or remorse, I began a slaughter on the ship.
With the aid of my enchanted whip, I cut four men in half with a single blow, with their two parts falling on the wet wood with a thud, along with their intestines staining the floor.
The other men only saw a mysterious light appear and touch four of their companions, and then they were split in two, only to have the strange light disappear, leaving them completely surprised and frightened.
But I took advantage of their daze, and thanks to the fact that the whips also became invisible once I covered them with my clothes, I approached the others, causing more deaths in a short time.
"Plaf" I heard a sound behind me, so without thinking, I lashed out with my whip, only to see Sabhana grab it with her bare hand, "come on Micaela, do you want all the fun for yourself alone?" the bold woman said to me, "I could have killed you," I growled.
Sabhana laughed, "You know magic and enchantments don't threaten us in this world, although it would be nice to see you trying." She commented, then jumped up and landed in the center of a group of pirates, only to expand her jaw and rip their heads off in one swift motion.
More sisters began to arrive, who, even under the effects of invisibility potions, I could see, thanks to the fact that we witches had immunity to magic, which meant that one witch could not kill another.
So it was that I left the rest of the pirates to their own devices to enjoy themselves, while I went below deck, encountering the scene I first thought. 'Slave traders' I thought, seeing dozens of dehydrated and starving people in handcuffs, both children, women, and even the elderly.
Disabling the effects of the invisibility potion, I showed myself to the poor souls.
"Hello, I am Micaela, general of the Xandarian army, I am here to free you," I told them, and to my relief, several spoke Azrael's language. The one he called High Valyrian.
Meeting no opposition, I began to free them and break their chains, seeing looks of gratitude and longing for those I had not yet freed.
"General, the remaining enemy ships are controlled, I need orders" Sabhana peeked from the deck, looking like a bat in her black garments.
"Transfer the slaves to our ships, as for the New Ghis ships, destroy them." I commended, watching as Sabhana nodded with a cruel smile on her face.
"Follow me, we will pass them to our ships," I said to the slaves I had freed, then started up the stairs to the deck, which was littered with dismembered men and body parts everywhere.
From the flagship a hatch opened, which was used to bring goods onto the ship, "climb carefully, help the children up" I said as I helped the poor limp people onto the ship.
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"Home sweet home" I commented with a smile on my face once I saw the large Elevated Bridge, indicating that we were home.
The Raised Bridge was a great structure, a Bridge over the sea, reaching sixty meters high over the waves of the Slave Bay, connecting the massive sea walls of the Kingdom, while guarding the sea entrance to Xandar.
The giant net began to rise, allowing my ships to enter the fjord, welcoming me to the city I had come to love.
I had directions to the shipyards as soon as I arrived, but first I had to unload the valuable cargo I was bringing, and the destination was the King's Zoo, since it was the largest place and conditioned enough for such creatures, I was bringing several different species to add to my King's growing collection of animals.
We soon docked at the private docks of Ischyros, my King's castle titan, noting how he was already there along with his brothers and other members waiting for us at the docks.
"My King" I greeted him with utmost respect and jubilation, as I bowed to him. "It is a pleasure to see you again, General, I hope your voyage was enjoyable." The king greeted me with a warm smile.
"Yes, my King, it was great" I replied, as they began to unload the Wyverns, tattooed lizard, and other creatures of Sothoryos. "As you reach to see, your order will be fulfilled".
"They are beautiful" I heard him say, as the king looked at the large winged lizards in great detail, even though they were currently without wings.
"We managed to capture five hundred and seventy-eight Wyverns, three hundred and eighty tattooed lizards, and a total of one hundred and thirty-seven other creatures, not only that, I brought you a gift," I told him, at the same time as I watched a large creature in a cage being brought from the ship.
The animal, quadrupedal and red, larger than the devastators and with a large mallet of bones at the end of its tail, caught Azrael's attention instantly, which, along with its triangular head, a black mane on its neck and nape, along with its two huge horns at the ends of its head, annexed by two other small and curved ones in its mouth, plus a third large and sharp as that of the rhinoceroses, Azrael fell in love with it.
(image)
And I could tell that, especially considering the huge smile that adorned my King's face. "A beautiful and worthy gift, I thank you," he thanked me, and that alone was enough for me to know that my time away from home was worth the grief.
