章 71: Leaves
The joy didn't last long. Soon the women were complaining about the lack of proper meals. They had it easy compared to the rest of the crew as they didn't have to participate in the physical labor, but the hunger was getting unbearable for them as well and they did what they could do to distract themselves.
While Heike was an experienced sailor, he had a hard time filling Gadfly's boots as a boatswain. The ship creaked and groaned under the intense pressure the wind put on its sails and masts. The men in the rigging were working their fingers to the bone to keep the Princess sailing steadily towards Innai's island.
When they finally reached the shore, Serenica was exhausted from just watching her boys do their best.
"I am ravenous," Spade said. "Give me that coconut, Serenica."
"What, this hairy thing?" Serenica pointed at a strange, almost spherical brown thing on the ground.
Despite his obvious weariness, the captain laughed. "Are you still uncertain about what a coconut looks like?"
"In my defense, the first time I ate it, it had been stripped of its hair," Serenica protested. "I am not a complete fool."
"No, you're not. You're just Neulian to your very core."
Spade received the coconut from her and chopped it open with a little axe. The men quickly imitated him, shaking the palm trees to drop the delicious things down.
Serenica tried some of their milky liquid herself. It was the most nourishing exotic thing she had ever tasted, or perhaps she was merely way too hungry to be held accountable for her preferences.
"So, how do we get to Innai now?" she asked after they had enjoyed their spontaneous meal. "Do I have to climb up a tree again?"
"I am afraid that is exactly what needs to happen," Spade said. "I hope you don't mind. You could soften him up a bit before the actual negotiations, too."
"Why do I always have to be your monkey?" Serenica groaned. "All right, then. Just don't cry if I fall and drown in his damn swamp."
The trees were not much more welcoming than they had been on Serenica's last visit, but she utilized her natural agility in order to pass through the swampy jungle-like forest. There were a few tough spots, but she made it through them, and when she arrived to the bushes, she felt confident about her own capability and worthiness.
"Innai! Innai!" she hollered.
No one answered her call.
The vegetation near the cottage of the old man had grown since the last time. Knowing how hostile living nature could be, Serenica waited.
She waited for quite a while.
When she was losing hope of ever getting help to pass through the bushes, she heard dead leaves crumble under the foot of someone who was probably Innai himself.
"Innai, it's me! The healer girl!" she yelled.
The bushes parted to reveal a huge brown lizard, resembling a cow in its massive size and armed with sharp teeth poking out of its maw, which emitted a rotten smell.
"Oh! Mother of -"
Serenica fired her pistol, but she only hit the left front paw of the beast and angered it.
The lizard sprinted at her.
She jumped up the nearest tree that could hold her weight and began to climb for her life.
The lizard got on its hind legs and touched the tree with its hideous paws.
For a moment Serenica was afraid it could climb.
The lizard merely hissed, though, its forked tongue tasting the air.
Serenica had a spare shot and she fully intended to use it. She didn't care if Innai would be angered. The lizard had to die if she was to live.
She loaded her pistol and aimed carefully.
One shot, and the lizard was dead, with a hole in its head, dripping red on the ground.
Serenica began to climb back down, but an unnatural movement in a pile of bloody leaves startled her.
It was as if the leaves themselves had come alive. They arranged themselves into some kind of a serpent, long and thick, with no visible limbs of any sort. The head of the snake was shaped like an arrow. It had empty holes where its eyes should have been and sharp little branches were its fangs. Serenica didn't want to find out if they were venomous or not.
This creature was more than capable of slithering up a tree.
Serenica made her way further up, but she soon ran out of thicker branches. She had to pull out her knife.
She hated to see blades in a fight. They made a nasty mess and they were the choice of people who enjoyed cruelty for the sake of cruelty. It was still a better option than dying.
The serpent circled the tree, wrapping itself around it multiple times to support its light body better. It opened its mouth a bit and hissed at Serenica, apparently estimating where to strike her.
Serenica said a prayer to the spirit of the mouse, knowing that the rodent had much more experience on this subject. Mice had always been preyed on by snakes.
Something surprisingly powerful took over Serenica's body, an invisible force knocking her off her branch. She could barely even react consciously before she hit the ground and fell on her feet.
Now she had the opportunity to kill the snake. She stabbed it as close to its head as she dared to.
The mouse within her let out a victorious squeal.
The serpent fell apart, now just a pile of leaves.
Serenica turned back towards the bushes and saw Innai.
He didn't look pleased with her at all.
"Here comes the slaughter," he said, leaning onto a staff, eyeing Serenica with a mixture of pity and disgust on his face.
"There had to be a body, and it could have been mine," Serenica said, wiping sweat off her brow. "If you could not be so cranky about me being alive, I would love it."
"Come inside, young warrior. I suppose you need a favor. Come."
Serenica followed him.
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