The Coastal Kingdoms of Olvion: Book Two of The Chronicles of Olvion by Larry Robbins

another round of instructions.  She knew her mother worried about her safety, but she could not understand why she did not realize that she could not possibly be any safer.  Even Father was not the physical equal of Tag-Gar, The Legend.
    Father ended his discussion with the big man.  Tag-Gar nodded, and the two clasped hands in the way of the warrior.  Her traveling companion looked over at her and nodded.   Toria was confused for a moment before realizing that she was the guide here, The Legend was waiting for her to show him the way.  Feeling more proud than she had ever been in her life, Toria hooked her thumbs in the straps of her pack and started out down the pathway which led in the direction of Olvion.  This would be the first day of the three day journey and quite possibly the best day in the young woman’s life.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Kal sat naked upon the sawn wooden floor of his own ship.  The Wind of Aspell had two cabins above the main deck, two smaller ones below decks along with two large crew berth spaces.  Kal was in none of those.  He was sitting in the dank and smelly void which is a hollow shell that separated the outer hull from the inner construction.  The purpose of the void was to add buoyancy and protect the ship from being holed should they strike a reef or submerged hazard.  Now it was Kal’s prison.
    It was two days past when he and the crew had jumped and laughed at the sight of sails approaching them from the distant horizon.  The crew had been at sea for twenty days and Kal had been on the verge of turning back.  They were halfway through their stores of dried beef and hard biscuits, and the smoked meat was gone after the tenth day.
    Then the lookout had signaled the spotting of the sails, and they had cheered and broken out the watered spirit that they called moog.  Mugs were passed around, and their course had been altered.  When they were finally close enough to see details they saw there was a total of three ships, all of them flying huge green sails.  On the top of their main masts flew a two-legged banner which was white with a bright red eye painted in the middle.
    An hour later the ships could be seen to be manned by large crews.  It was the sight of those crews that caused Kal to interrupt his celebrating even as it went on around him.  Gann, the ship’s captain had walked quietly up beside him.  Gann was not celebrating either.
    “They’re a rough-looking lot, are they not?” Kal asked.
    “Aye.  Plenty rough,” the captain replied.  “Would you be thinking that our men should quietly arm themselves?  Before they get any closer?”
    Kal looked at the face of the old ship captain.  He bore the stamp of a life on the water, his naturally light brown skin burned darker by the sun.  His face was lined and his forearms were massive from pulling on lines and climbing the mast-works.  He wore a simple sleeveless white jerkin and tough black linen trousers.
    Kal took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  He mentally sorted through the instructions given to him by his king.  This was to be a venture of discovery.  The whole point of it was to seek out and establish a relationship with previously unknown civilizations.  They had valuable gifts in their hold which were to be given to the people of any such kingdoms and, if possible, a treaty should be reached and trade goods decided upon. 
    Those goals would be jeopardized if their first meeting with these people was a violent one.
    “No Captain,” Kal answered.  “We have our instructions, and we will carry them out.  Let us put on our best faces.”
    The Captain made a sound that was much like the growl of a cur.  He pointed a plump finger at the crewmen lining the rails of the newly-discovered ships.  Many held grappling hooks tied to sturdy ropes.  The three ships had now spread out and gotten into a position to come up on the Wind of Aspell on both sides and from behind.
    “It matters not now anyway