Rise of the Retics by T J Lantz Page B

hunt you?” Tyranna didn’t understand why humanity would want to kill off entire cultures. Until last night, she had never met a single human who wanted to kill anyone. 
    “That is a question I do not have an answer to, nor do I believe anyone on Earth could answer fully. Our scholars have debated this for hundreds of years and have come up with many theories, but there is no consensus. Some believe it has to do with power, others argue greed. But alas, Tyranna, there will be plenty of time to answer all your questions once we are safely aboard the Wild Rover. ”
    Tyranna was torn. Despite all her initial fears, she sensed no evil from this creature. If he was, in fact, telling the truth, and she was some sort of crazy shape-shifting monster, then returning to Lipkos was definitely not an option. Those men would surely come back to find her, and then she would meet the same end as Brother Tychus and the monks who lived there. Regardless of what she was—a human girl or some mythical Viking-elf warrior, she really wanted to live long enough to find out the truth. 
    If he was lying and planned on eating her, there would be little she could do to stop it, regardless of what choice she made.
    After careful thought, Tyranna decided to trust her instincts. She stood, grabbed a quick handful of food from the ground next to her, and started following Branchy.
    Tyranna spent the next hour avoiding branches, climbing over logs, and desperately trying to follow the path that Branchy was blazing. For such a huge creature, he moved through the forest with the ease and grace of a young doe.
    She had to stop for breaks to rest her feet several times, which slowed her down even more. She had no shoes and the rough nature with which she was dragged out of the monastery the night before had left them scraped, swollen, and burning with each step.
    Noticing Tyranna’s pain, Branchy stopped and had her sit down. He took a handful of mud, rolled it around in his huge hands, and applied it to both her feet like a salve. She winced at first at the course feel of his hands, but soon the soothing relief of the mud became all she could feel. While it didn’t take all her pain away, she was able to move with much greater ease.
    Finally, when she thought she could travel no farther without resting again, the forest edge appeared before her. Just beyond the tree line Tyranna could make out the image of several large ships docked near the shore. Hundreds, if not thousands, of men busily loaded and unloaded goods while their captains exchanged currency with the street merchants. A near equal amount of women, many with children in tow, paced back and forth through the rows of vendors, searching for deals that only existed in their minds.
    Tyranna had never seen so many people at one time. She found the sight to be equal parts intimidating and exhilarating.
    “It’s so busy, how are we ever going to sneak down there?” she asked Branchy as she surveyed the bustling harbor.
    “It will take me some time to get down there unnoticed, Tyranna. Take this,” he said handing her a few silver coins, “and head down to the fisherman’s stand near the western most dock. See? Down there.” He pointed to the far side of the harbor, several hundred yards away.
    “While you are there, buy a fish or two, and then head down the coast away from the harbor toward the western side of the beach. I will meet you there. Oh, and while you are at the market, be sure you haggle over the price so that they think you a merchant’s daughter. Hopefully your less than sparkling appearance does not destroy that illusion before it begins. Oh, and also try not to talk to anyone other than the fishmonger. The fewer people you interact with down there, the better. We don’t want to make it easy for the Coalition to figure out where you went.”
    “Can’t I just go with you and just avoid the port altogether?” asked Tyranna, wondering why they needed to risk anyone seeing