By: Bryant R. Haake, Honors College, Presidential Honors Student, English Major
The rest of the day was spent rummaging through the remains of the town for supplies. Georgiana headed straight for the old alchemist’s workshop, but only found a few vials of things she already had: iron dust, salt, pepper, chalk, an unshaven brick of limestone, and a single vial of pure alcohol which Jacob caught Crimson eyeing several times.
Crimson did a more thorough search, walking slowly through town to see what there was to see. Georgiana had tried to join her a few times, but had been roughly told off for doing so. Jacob could see her disappointment, but he also didn’t want to object. He’d done his own little search with a much quicker pace, and his stomach had turned at every broken corner and crumpled corpse. Georgiana shouldn’t have to see her town and people in such a state.
Jacob’s search was more selfish than he wanted to admit. He had claimed to be checking the waterside for anything that had washed ashore from the wrecked ships, but both girls knew exactly what he was actually doing. However, with each step along the seaside, his anxiousness only grew. He didn’t see any wreckage of the Forsaken, but Captain Vexx’s body was nowhere to be seen, either.
He could have survived, Jacobson, Ren tried to comfort him. I’ve seen worse wounds on weaker mortals, and that Captain was no weak mortal.
“Did those people survive, though?” Jacob asked.
I… words are not exactly my strongfront, Jacobson. Ren sounded almost apologetic. I meant only to reassure you.
“Those bloody pirates probably took his body to sell. There’s plenty of people who wanted Captain dead, on both sides of the law.” He sighed, which grew into an angry yell and finished with him punching a broken wooden post. His hand came away red and splintered, but he ignored the pain. “How in the River was he able to do what he did that night? When we ran away, I saw the water all along the docks rising like a wall. He’s never done something like that before! What was that?”
The blood moon, Jacob, Ren said in a stable voice. Your Captain was a Goldblood, and so on the night of a blood moon, his gift rises in strength.
“I’ve never seen that happen before.”
He’s never had a reason to use the full extent of his gift if I had to presume. Your Captain seemed like an intelligent lad; I doubt he’d go around raising the seas for no reason, only to draw unwanted attention.
“It doesn’t matter, anyhow,” Jacob huffed. “He’ll never get to do it again. He’s gone, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Jacob summoned a tentacle and wrapped it around the pier, squeezing as hard as he could and snapping it in half. He went to each subsequent pier and did the same, ending up with splinter marks on his upper arms by the end but thoroughly removing any chance of another ship docking here in the near future.
I assume that had a purpose aside from just anger relief, Jacobson?
“Those pirates won’t be back… if any survived, I mean. I won’t allow it.”
Hmm… let me teach you something new.
Jacob wiped the sweat off his brow and turned away from the water. “No thanks, Ren. Maybe some other day.”
I suggest you reconsider, Jacobson. The talents provided by my gift can be used for much more than just summoning my tentacles, and I can’t control anything else you learn.
“I said not today, Ren.” Jacob stomped down what remained of the last pier, grabbed around the whole thing, and squeezed once more. The whole pier shattered into a million bits, spraying him with splintered wood. “I’m tired, and we’re going back to the camp in the morning. You can teach me some other time.”
Hmph.
Jacob wasn’t in the mood to argue further. Instead he wound his way back through town, carefully avoiding the splintered buildings. Despite the setting, the day wasn’t actually that bad. The sunlight was warm on his neck, but not unpleasantly so, and the smell of the ocean reminded him of sailing. He could almost imagine he was back aboard the Forsaken, clinging to the mast like a spider monkey and letting the wind blow his hair back before getting called back down to deck by Heilyn.
He found Georgiana and Crimson at the centre of town. Both were carrying a few slightly damaged bags. Crimson tossed a couple to him, the force of the throw nearly making him crumple. He staggered to catch his balance and tossed the bags over his back.
“Geez, what’s in here? Bricks?” he complained.
“Naw, that’s this one right ‘ere,” Crimson responded while shaking a suspiciously square bag. “Those have cured meats. Apparently the tavern kept an underground cellar, and it was barely damaged.”
“Hmm. Ship food. Gotcha,” Jacob nodded. “What else did you two find? And… Why the bricks?”
“We’re going to start a shelter in the bog in case something like this happens again,” Georgiana answered. “We’ve been too scared of our own home for too long. I plan to do something about that.”
“She’s also decided to hold a vote for the next mayor,” Crimson said. “And, she’s decided to run for the position.”
Georgiana jabbed Crimson in the stomach with her elbow but nodded. “My father was a good mayor, even if he was a bit complacent. The townsfolk need someone like that, and I think I could help.”
“So, you’re not going to come with us?” Jacob said, trying to mask his disappointment. “What happened to training?”
“She’ll be fine,” Crimson said, not hiding her own disappointment very well. “She can learn later, but her people need a leader I guess and who else is gonna do it? The baker?”
Jacob shook his head but didn’t say anything. He was sure Georgiana would be an amazing mayor, but not seeing her for so long while he went off to see some Doctor or something wasn’t an appealing thought. Doubts ran through his mind at lightspeed. What if the pirates came back? What if the townsfolk didn’t like her? What if…? He shook his head, trying to focus on the positive. He’d at least get some answers from Dr. Cleary, even if Georgiana wasn’t there to hear them with him.
They began their trip back to the encampment, making it there just before nightfall, drenched in sweat and muddy water. Crimson, as always, didn’t seem to mind, but Georgiana and Jacob dropped their bags off and instantly collapsed in the cave. As they rested their sore limbs, Sergi filled them in on campground activities.
“We’ve been doing fairly well, all things considered. Albus has been scavenging for fruits and berries, and we even assembled a sort of guard to make sure we’re not attacked out of nowhere. We’ve moved all the children, elderly, and sickly into the cave, but we’ve kept the sick away from everyone else of course. There’s only a couple of ‘em, anyways. And… yup, that’s about it, Gigi. What have you three been up to?”
Jacob and Georgiana glanced at each other.
“Eh, nothing interesting,” Jacob said.
“We’ll call a town meeting tomorrow, Sergi,” Georgiana said. “We need to elect a new mayor.”
“Oh? And, are you going to run?”
“Of course, Sergi. It’s my… duty to the people,” she said unconvincingly. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He patted her on the back. “It’s good to hear you say that,” he said with a smile. “These people… they need someone like your father again, and who better than you? I’m sure you’ll do amazing. I mean, who else would we elect? The baker?”
Georgiana called the town together the next morning for an impromptu election. Volunteers for the position were taken, voted on, and whittled down to two final entrants: Georgiana Buckley and Albus Baker… the son of the town’s baker, funnily enough.
The actual election process took just over an hour. A leaf and a rock were passed to everyone of legal voting age for the town, which happened to be 16, and they were told to pass back the corresponding item depending on who they’d rather see for mayor. The leaf was for Georgiana, and the rock was for Albus. Both parties had decided beforehand that it would be Sergi doing the counting since he was the best at it in the town. While he was counting, Georgiana pulled aside Crimson and Jacob, who had both taken up the items.
“I know I shouldn’t be worried, but which items do you two think you saw more?” she asked, wringing her hands together.
Jacob stayed quiet, thankful that Crimson had the strength to speak instead. “Well, I didn’t exactly count them myself, but I think they were fairly equal. Heard some of the folks in the crowd talkin’ bout how Albus had done so much in the days we were gone ‘n all that. I’m sure they realize you’d probably be the better mayor, but you’ve certainly got a competitor.”
Georgiana looked to Jacob for confirmation and he nodded. The truth was that he’d actually counted while picking them up, and while he wasn’t great at it and knew he’d probably skipped a couple numbers, his final result hadn’t been something Georgiana would’ve been excited to hear. There were at least a dozen or so rocks more than leaves in his piles. He tried not to act excited, but he was secretly hoping she’d lose and come with him before realizing she’d probably stay and help the town anyways. His head dropped as she looked away.
“Well, like you said, Crimson, I’m sure they will realize who the better leader will be,” she said through a shaky voice.
She turned back towards the rest of the group to where Albus was discussing something with his own party of friends. Crimson had called him “boy” more than a few times, but he was technically just a few years younger than she was, already in his early 30s.
Sergi popped his head back out of the cave and gave a thumbs up. Georgiana nodded and climbed back up onto the rock she’d been using for announcements. Jacob helped Sergi up beside her.
“Okay everyone, the votes are in,” Geogiana said, hiding the shakiness in her voice just well enough. “Sergi here will reveal who our new mayor will be.”
Sergi nodded and cleared his throat as Georgiana stepped back down. “Yes, after careful consideration and recounting all of the votes twice, I wound up with 389 leaves and 416 rocks. Our new mayor is Albus Baker,” he finished, averting his gaze from Georgiana before quickly scrambling down the rock face and hurrying back to the cave.
Jacob’s heart did a somersault, resulting in a short scolding session from his brain. He turned to comfort Georgiana but didn’t see her anywhere. Crimson looked just as confused, if not more so due to her elevated point of view. The crowd began to murmur, everyone shocked at the choice of their new mayor.
Jacob paid the crowd no mind, pushing through them to look for Georgiana. He wanted to call out but also didn’t want to cause her embarrassment. Crimson stayed right behind him, eventually rolling her eyes and picking him up to place on her shoulders.
“Look for sweet cheeks, boy,” she said as he tried to protest.
He grabbed onto her to keep from falling and kept looking. Just in time, he caught her slipping into the cave, out of view of most people. Jacob climbed down from Crimson’s shoulders and hurried over to the cave. Inside, Georgiana was bent over a holed pack, stuffing the few things she had into the single-space opening. She finished as he tried and failed to speak, turning to him with moist eyes and a frown.
“I’m going with you now,” she said quietly. “There’s nothing for me here. Let’s go… quickly if we can.”
Jacob walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. She said nothing, nor did she do anything. He released her and nodded.
“Okay, if that’s what you want, we’ll find a way off this rock as fast as possible. C’mon.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and led her out of the cave.
Albus had called everyone in the town to order and was giving a speech of sorts. Jacob could see his hands shaking and the bouncing of his feet. The man was nervous, but Jacob held no sympathy. He’d chosen his path, and they had their own to deal with now.
Crimson met up with them and kept walking, keeping behind them to block the view of the young adults. They got only a few yards into the bog before they were interrupted by the pounding of boots against peat. They all turned and wordlessly watched as Sergi awkwardly slowed and came to a stop just before the bog.
“So… I didn’t expect that,” he said.
Georgiana sighed and kept walking. Crimson kept going as well, but Jacob looked somberly at Sergi, who stared back in turn. Both nodded to each other, and as Jacob was about to follow his companions, Sergi tossed him another bottle, nodded again, and ran off. Jacob stared at the bottle, a clear vial swirling not with liquid but a substance he actually recognized: gunpowder.
A strange gift, but a gift nonetheless- oh? What’s that?
Attached to the bottle was a string and a piece of folded paper. Scrawled on the inside in messy figures were two words: I’m Sorry.
“I’m sorry?” Jacob muttered under his breath. “Guess it’s meant for Georgie, huh Ren?”
Ren stayed silent. Jacob ignored the silence and continued walking. Crimson had sewn a bit of basilisk skin to her captain’s hat, banding it with scales with the intention of keeping other basilisks away due to its smell. So far it had worked, but it wasn’t a guarantee.
In spite of their caution, nothing happened to them on the way back out. As they neared the town, Jacob wanted to ask Georgiana why they’d never tried going into the bog before, especially since they had elixirs of courage, but he kept silent. Instead he merely sidled up next to her, keeping within only a few feet of her to make sure she knew he was there.
Jacob walked in silent contemplation and was the first to pierce the bog before Georgiana grabbed his hand and yanked him back. Jacob blushed and rubbed his arm, glancing around in confusion.
“Hey, what’s–”
“Shh!” Georgiana whispered, panic behind her eyes. “Be quiet or they might hear you.”
“What’s wrong? Who’s they?”
Crimson stepped over the two young adults and pulled back the leaves and branches just enough to peer into the town. Her eyes narrowed, and she smiled wickedly.
“Well lovebirds, I think we’ve found the solution to our problem. Are you two ready to commandeer a ship from some pirates?”