Hunter Or Huntress

Chapter 42: Send Off

Sapphire had helped as best she could to prepare for the evening's ceremony. Everyone did their part. A fine meal was prepared. Tom even brought out some of his things to add something special to the little girl's memory. It was a fine meal indeed, but it also marked some of their last supplies of fresh food. They would need to begin hunting again soon, there wasn’t much leftover from the winter. And they only had two airworthy huntresses at the moment.

The mood over dinner had been somber, they had swapped tales of the little girl's escapades, there had been some careful laughter at the funnier of the stories. Four years old, not a lot of time to get to know a person. But she had been a little spark of life in the keep from the day she was born. Always running around being a little goofball, even if she was rather easy to scare.

She had managed much in that time, both mischief and joy. From the time she had found some of her mother's jewelry and been chased around the keep by Esmeralda to get it back, to getting her hand stuck in a jar of dried berries and needing to be freed after being caught red-handed.

In a way it was nice to know the little girl would live on in the memories of those who loved her, she deserved no less. Sapphire could only hope Dashu would be forgotten in time. He would receive no such ceremony, that much was for sure.

Then Tom had brought out his camera. Now that Vulzan and the others knew the truth he didn’t have to worry about what he could show anymore. Apparently, he had taken some pictures of the kids just like he had of Sapphire. He had even taken a kind of picture that moved, there was sound as well. He called it a movie. It wasn’t much but to Esmeralda and Kokashi it clearly meant the world. Their little girl running around playing once more. It was beautiful. The kids loved the little memory too. Clearly remembering the day in question, it had been no more than a week ago.

Kiran didn’t enjoy it though. The experience had been tough on the little guy. He had been quiet and kept to himself only curling up with his mother, father, or Tom much of the time. Sapphire just hoped he was still young enough he would have trouble remembering this in the future. He had been such a brave little dragonette, surpassing even his mother or father. He needed to stay strong for just a little longer.

As they exchanged stories and memories of the lost, Tom had continued to entertain the children as best he could. Freeing Esmeralda from her usual duties. He was good at it too. Sapphire was happy to see him playing with them, he looked at peace there. She had been thinking about how Tom acted around the kids. It was clear he meant what he had said, they were sacred to him. Even now he was doing his best to protect them from the terrible nature of this evening. Sapphire just hoped he was as happy as he looked playing with them, he deserved to be.

She could see Vulzan clearly keeping an eye on Tom whenever he could. Hopefully, Tom was going to be able to win the trader back over, to believing he was in fact a kind soul at the core. Even if he was one you shouldn’t get on the bad side of. Or at least not between him and the kids.

Archeon had been harder to read for Sapphire, the dragon hadn’t seemed particularly worried after their initial discussion about Tom’s actions. She didn’t pretend to understand dragons though, she had rarely done more than exchange pleasantries with one after all.

The funeral had taken place on the platform that evening as the sun was setting. A large fire had been constructed at the edge and Anastasi placed atop it. Everyone was gathered around the fire to say their final goodbyes, only Nunuk had not been able to attend, still too weak to get out of bed. Some held back their tears, others did not, Esmaralde was crying in Kokashi's arms for much of the ceremony, the guard doing his absolute best to keep a straight back and taking the responsibility of lighting the fire.

It was a beautiful evening with the setting sun clear and bright, as the fire began to take hold they all gathered to sing a few songs for the little girl. They started with a lullaby, one Esmeralda had often sung for her at the bedside. Today may be the last time she would sing it. Tom had looked on but not joined in, clearly not comfortable with trying to sing in a language he could barely speak. He had started humming along after a little bit. They just stood and sat, watching the fire slowly burning, the sun setting in the distance singing their songs.

Tom's song

After a while, Tom brought out a little metal thing and sat down at the edge looking out into the encroaching darkness. Then he began playing a simple little tune on what was apparently a kind of instrument. It was a sad melody, almost haunting. Sapphire could feel the hurt in the song, it was the sound of a broken man playing.

When he had finished his little song. Esmeralda went to sit beside him, they didn’t speak. He handed her his little flask and she took a sip handing it back to its owner. The two sat there for a moment before Esmeralda started to sing again.

she began to match the tune in the gentlest voice she could manage. Tom looked at her for a moment before answering by resuming to play, matching her in a serene duet. It was beautiful to listen to. Sapphire hadn’t even known Tom could play, he certainly couldn’t sing that much they had learned back in the forest. But he didn’t miss a single tone. He played with practiced precision yet still with deep emotion. She swore she could see his eyes tearing up, as he played the sad melody.

Kokashi just stood by the fire, staring at the flames, head held low. He had been the guard roaming the halls and corridors, and he had been sitting chatting with Tyborg when his little girl had been snatched. Sapphire wasn't sure if there was much he could have done, but she was sure the guard was blaming himself for the loss of his precious little girl. Wrongfully or not.

Rachuck and a few of the other guards had come over to give him a pat on the back. They weren’t stupid, they knew just as well as Sapphire what was going through Kokashish head right now. Eventually, Kokashi had left them going inside, perhaps not being able to hold the facade any longer.

Fengi and a few of the others joined in to the chorus of Tom and Esmarald’s song as the two figured out the kinks. It was a somber scene, but it was beautiful too. As the night began to set Kokashi came back out joining in with his little violin, It had been a while since they had heard him play, but he still managed to keep up. It wasn’t a hard melody after all.

They sat together watching the embers being carried off on the wind into the clear night sky, glowing like little stars. All to the sound of her mother singing alongside the people who had loved her. Fly free little girl, fly free. We’ll see you up there one day.

The next morning there had been an odd atmosphere in the keep. They just got up and went about their work almost in silence, some smiled at each other, some looked furious, others just kept solemn. They had a grizzly task to perform. But Sapphire couldn’t wait, there would be justice today, sweet justice. Dashu had been collected by Tom and Fengi who brought him to the greeting hall, It had been a while since Sapphire had been to the edge. There wasn’t much to do out there, after all, Except admiring the view.

Archeon would take those who could not fly, leaving just Nunuk and Unkai behind. Despite the clearly treacherous times, they found themselves in, they would all be going. Sapphire would have been fine with just cutting off his head and be done with it, but tradition must be upheld.

Both the huntresses and guard geared up in full attire. Armor having been hastily cleaned and polished as much as was possible. Bows strung and swords sharpened. Even Sapphire and Dakota were kitted out for combat, despite the ridiculousness of the thought, but an honor guard of Bizmati-keep would not be found waiting.

During the flight she was glad they had gagged the traitor, he was clearly attempting to plead with them all the way there. Luckily he had spent much of the night writing letters under Tom's watchful eye so he was tired to the point of exhaustion, the constant pain he was still in from the broken and untended bones likely didn’t help him either. Good, Sapphire thought, he didn’t deserve to be at peace after all.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The funeral had been one of the more serene experiences Tom had ever had. It was beautiful. The fact that it had been the clearest evening he had seen in a while had helped a lot, but still, it was a nice way to go. They apparently believed the winds would carry the embers and ashes up into the heavens where they would stay forever looking down from the stars. Tom wasn’t gonna argue, it wasn’t like human religion had much bearing here. For all, he knew they might even be right.

The plan for Dashu was apparently the exact opposite. They were currently standing at the edge of the island following the roughly 20-minute flight. Was it not for the reason they were here, he would likely be making flat earth jokes right about now. The wind was howling and quite cold even, Tom reckoned it must be rather uncomfortable for the dragonettes here. So they were likely seeking to be done with this as quickly as possible.

Dashu had been placed on the ground still tied up, then his wings had been thoroughly broken by Vulzan, Rachuck, Kokashi, and Esmeralda with clubs. Tom felt a little bad he had already done them in earlier but now there was no hope of the dragonette ever flying again that was for sure. Then he was fitted with a net of sorts and weighed down with rocks. One rock for each person he had wronged so quite a few by the time they were done.

His gag and blindfold had been removed apparently so he could see his doom approaching and repent for his sins all the way down. It was a very literal way of going about it. At least he would likely die on impact, but Tom was beginning to understand why the dragonettes really didn’t like water. It was literally hell to them.

He wondered just how far down there was, out of curiosity he had crept up to the edge to look over. It just kept going, it looked like miles. There were clouds beneath them in fact. Well, that explained the occasional fog in the middle of the day for no apparent reason. They were going through a cloud, literally. He did spot something dark blue, which must be the ocean, in between the clouds. He had no way of judging distance but it looked rather far away as in kilometers away. Note to self then, don’t fall off ever. Tom wondered just what was actually keeping the island in the air. He would have to ask at some point, they might just know.

Tom looked to the horizon, clouds obscured much but he swore he could actually see the curvature. So he was on a planet then, that was something. He wondered if the dragonettes knew what a planet was. Probably not, considering they thought of heaven as literally up. No other islands had been in sight though much as he tried to spot them. The cloud cover obscuring them even if there were any.

Tom had nearly jumped off when Anchor had poked him on the shoulder to get his attention. They were about to begin. Tom was fairly sure if not for the seriousness of the situation there would have been giggling, they weren't scared of the edge after all.

The actual act of execution had been a short one. Dashu was marched up to the edge with the Honor guard flanking him and his crimes were repeated for all to hear. Dashu for his part was just quite seeming to have accepted where this was going. He was struggling under the weight of all the rocks not to mention his lack of sleep and general poor condition. He was a sad spectacle to behold. He was allowed to give his last words before his eternal fall, as the dragonettes called it.

“I’m sorry”

Tom did feel a tug in his stomach, as a hard kick to the chest from Rachuck sent Dashu stumbling over the edge with a scream. He was a traitor and a fucking moron, but did he deserve to die? Was he a good person who was just too weak and stupid to do the right thing, or had he just managed to get Tom to think that? A worm or a weakling? They would never know.

His scream could be heard for a while as he fell before fading into the howling wind. A few of the dragonettes stood looking as he fell. Tom Wasn’t gonna join them, that was a bit much even for him. He caught himself feeling sorry for the guy even after what his treachery had caused.

He tried to recall the memory of playing with Anastasi for comfort. That soon brought the memory of the fight to save her into his head instead. The sight of that innocent little girl crawling towards her mother trailing blood.

No Dashu had this coming and Tom would have to make sure this didn’t happen again. He didn’t just have to defend himself anymore. He had kids and friends to protect now. The keep would need to be defended at all costs.

After the execution Archeon had taken them back to the keep, he would be departing shortly for the capitol. Tom made sure to go through all of the trader's supplies before they left. Vulzan did indeed have five jars of blitz gel as they called it. The powder form was considered too dangerous to store in large quantities so gel it was. He also had 3 more tubes of flash powder. The total came to about 10 gold. Vulzan didn’t even bother taking the payment claiming with the amount of pain he had brought with him there was no way he could. Tom reckoned it had something to do with him being caught redhanded earlier but no matter. Free was free after all.

He guessed the trader was going to be making a killing on this trip anyway. Even if Tom had no clue what losing guards would cost him. At the end that wasn’t his concern. Vulzan hadn’t been willing to part with any of the potions on just goodwill though. Tom elected he didn’t need them, he had all the ingredients he wanted that the trader had. Besides, who knew what the next one might bring. Best to keep some merchandise on hand.

The somber mood hadn’t left the keep they still had many wounded to varying degrees, Tom himself was damn happy their healing magic was this effective at dealing with cuts and small punctures he had acquired. Nunuk had responded well to the saline solution, Tom was debating whether to give her another bag. In time this was one medicine he could produce himself after all. The old lady did seem to be stable and slowly improving, so he elected to not risk it. Even if they could really use her skills for the healing work.

The wounded escorts had gone with Vulzan and Archeon, betting on the fact they would be able to outrun any pursuit on the way back home, combined with not taking any of the more common routes. Tom just hoped the duo was right.

Esmeralda and Fengi had left to go hunt the plains pretty much as soon as they had returned to the keep. Tom was planning on giving them a hand one day. With only two huntresses, they wouldn’t be able to carry any prey back with them if they had his fat arse along though. So a big haul with the quad was the way to go in his mind. Besides they could use some more wood for the fires, he might just break out the chainsaw for them too then, that should be fun.

He would have to see about that when he was more fit for a fight. For the time being, cleaning work made up most of the first few days. It would take a while for things to get back to normal around here after this string of rather disastrous days.

He needed to make good on his promise to make something go boom as well. He had the feeling it would be in his best interest in more ways than one to do so. Even if Jackalope had stopped giving him shit following the revolver incident, Shiva was relentless. He had made a promise and she would see him fulfill it.

He was still in quite a bit of pain. The wounds were all sealed but they still hurt like hell when he stretched. Alchemical work wasn’t very strenuous though and he had dropped his weights for the time being. So black powder experiments it was.

Getting the guano fertilizer refined had been a simple if smelly process. The only thing that kept Shiva from kicking him out of the smithy was the promise of success. So this had better work, he didn’t want to be going up and down all those stairs every day to get some work done.

Tom did still have his other duties, being both the one awake for most of the day and sort of combat-capable thanks to his weapons. He was on guard duty daily and sometimes twice. Combined with the time spent with the children, his working hours were limited. Even if his lessons had been put on hold for the time being.

After a few days and several tries, he managed to make some saltpeter of sufficient quality to make something go puff. He had excitedly found Shiva and before he knew it he had a bit of an audience in the smithy. This would be embarrassing if it was another dud, but he had tested it already so fingers crossed.

He poured a bit out onto the wooden cutting board he had ruined during his first drunken attempt. It took a few tries with a flint and steel but eventually, he was rewarded with a nice poof and a lot of smoke. There was a bit of oohing, from the crowd as Tom turned to them looking proud.

“Was that it?” Jackalope then went. “You said it would go boom like your rifle." She sounded like a kid who had just discovered Santa wasn’t real.

“In confined space, yes, I show you. This is what supposed to do when in open”

Tom could understand the confusion, they had expected a boom after all. Shiva looked like she had just received a gut punch.

He got out a revolver cartridge and disassembled it, being careful to save the powder, replacing it with his homemade black powder. It should really be granulated first but it would have to do.

“Time for proper test fire” he made his way down and onto the small platform outside the doors to the armory.

“Shiva, you do the honors,” Tom went, preparing the weapon for her and showing her how to hold it. Making a point to look at Jackalope as he did. Shiva had just lost two fingers on her left hand so one-handed would have to do it. With a black powder charge and the fact, he was certain Shiva could bench press him in earth gravity without breaking a sweat. He wasn’t too worried.

Shiva picked up the gun holding it one-handed in a straight arm and pulled the trigger. There was a soft but satisfying boom and a large cloud of white smoke.

“Now that was more like it! Smokes a lot though.” Shiva concluded coughing a bit, she did sound pleased though.

“Yeah problem with black powder is smoke, not as good, but it works”

“Well, you did it, Tom, what now then you only have three guns?” Sapphire questioned.

“I have four, but not now have much to learn, I need to try dragon powders, I also have ideas for your bows.” Sapphire seemed to perk up at this? Oh, he got it. One gun up for grabs. Like it was going to be that easy for them.

“Why do you want to make a bow now? You just got the stuff you said you needed to make the cannon.” Shiva questioned

“You are good with bows, and guns are hard to make and need machines to make good one. I have much to do though, I need time” He had settled on not wasting the precious metal on making a simple cast smoothbore. He wanted something better, especially in the rate of fire department.

A compound bow should make a nice first step in the weapons program though.