“Are
you well, Mr. Din Allorowro Vela D’Pomani D’Moro?” Amisbhake came up beside him
on the rail of the skiff.
“I
am well enough, Sir. Overjoyed to
be free of the Docks if somewhat…ill at ease to find myself once again putting
out into the Sea again. And
please, if we are going to be companions on this journey of several months, I
am going to need you to call me just ‘Kurga’.”
“You
are ashamed of your family’s history?”
“No. Quite the opposite actually, I believe
I bring shame to it. It is better
for them if everyone just thinks Kurga has failed, not the ignoble son of a
great house has failed.”
“I
see. You feel the weight of
people’s expectations for you.
That can be a heavy burden.”
“You
have no idea,” Kurga said, then amended, “or do you? I’m sorry, I really don’t know anything about you…or your
rather silent companion. Where is
she?”
“Resting.”
“She
seems rather frail. This is not a
journey for the weak you know.”
The
great, hulking Tigra bodyguard raised one eyebrow, “She is stronger than she
appears. How much did you know
about Ch’Voga when you sailed from here with him? Did you know his family? His past? His
burdens?”
“Not
really, no. I met him in a
dockside café. We both wanted to
go east. He had a contact with a
boat but no money. I had a contact
with money but no boat. That was
all I needed to know. I took him
to be another child of privilege on a summer project of social justice.”
“It
would seem then, you are developing the habit of traveling with strangers.”
“Well,”
Kurga raised his waterskin, “Here’s to bad habits with better outcomes!” He took a drink, wiping his muzzle with
the back of his hand, his mother would be appalled, especially if she knew how
much liquor he had added to the water.
Maybe this musclehead was right, he really was developing a lot of bad
habits. “Well, then Mr. Amisbhake,
let us not tempt fate. Tell me a
little about yourself.”
“You
said you work for the Viceroy?”
“I
serve him.”
“Well,
what’s it like being a bodyguard of a near-king?”
“I
am not his bodyguard. Others do
that work.”
“Oh,
I had assumed from your.. you’re not a..?
Well then how big are..?”
The eyebrow went up again and Kurga regrouped and restarted before he
heard about another of his bad habits, “So what is it you do for the Viceroy?”
“I sit on his council.”
“I sit on his council.”
“You’re an advisor?”
“I am.”
“Well, fancy that.”
“Yes. Fancy that.”
“Must be… interesting.”
“It can be.”
“Probably took a lot of schooling.”
“A lifetime.”
“Hm.”
“Yes.” The sand hissed under the boat. The rigging creaked.
“Why is she named, ‘Son’?” Kurga blurted.
The Tigra smiled, “I was wondering when you would get around to asking me that.”
No comments:
Post a Comment