Chapter XIV - Sand Arbor - Delphi

Mateo must have known that she needed the rest, because he had let her sleep through the Gluttonous Lass’s docking at Sand Arbor. She awoke in her quarters to find the boy perched atop a barrel, reading a book about an old warlord from Sayiif he had found in her trunk. “When did we pull into harbor?” She asked immediately upon waking, her first observation being the sounds of the bustling town coming through the port window.

“Around sunrise, nearly an hour ago,” Mateo responded without looking up from the pages.

She wasn’t angry, but sleep was the last thing she wanted to do right now. Delphi grabbed some fresh garments from her wooden chest that would be more suited for the weather of the arid desert, and she hadn’t had a chance to change clothes since the night of the festival. She changed quickly behind Mateo’s back, whom she figured wouldn’t have paid her any mind anyway, fully engrossed in his tome.

Up on deck, she found the Captain standing by the ramp, overseeing some members of his crew who were hauling several crates on a wooden dolly down to the docks.

“Will we be anchored for long?” Delphi asked the portly old sailor.

“Got one more shipment to send ashore. Thin un’s nearly finished. Reckon we got about half an hour.” He thumbed his nose, grinning playfully. “If ye got business ashore, best do it quickly. Betcha got somethin’ o’ worth in that big ‘ol trunk o’ yours.”

Ignoring the Captain’s quip, there was only one thing Sand Arbor could offer her; the chance of a hint at Jiro’s whereabouts. Though she’d taken off into the port town hastily, she had to wrack her brain in order to figure out where she’d even begin, her time extremely limited.

His sword… This was another detail that had been nagging at Delphi for the past few days. In her meeting with Tariik and the High Prester, they’d told her that Jiro had left his sword in the chest of the corpse of the Seventh Duche. There must have been a face off… Tariik disarmed Jiro and killed Orville with it in order to frame him. Or maybe Jiro had truly done it. But despite the air of mystery that surrounded the events of his leave, what could he hope to accomplish by murdering the Seventh Duche, a child, other than to further Tariik’s goals and plunge the city into chaos? The only conclusion her mind could fall back to was magyk, but she still couldn’t even force herself to believe it.

All of that aside, Jiro would doubtless be needing a sword, and if he had stopped in Sand Arbor, he may have paid a visit to the market in search of a new weapon. She asked for directions and picked up her pace, landing in the open market square within minutes. It took her even less time to single out the few smiths in the crowd of venders, and inquired about her former partner. “Ah, I know the one!” The third or fourth vender replied enthusiastically. “Red hair, green eyes. Don’t see that combo too often. Stopped by yesterday. There was another strange one with him, tall and lanky with hair white as the dead.”

Delphi scrunched up her face. “I didn’t know he had a traveling companion,” she commented. “He doesn’t sound familiar at all. But, could you tell me more?”

“We didn’t speak for long,” the market vendor elaborated, Delphi was apparently one of his few customers. “He handed me these two old, rusty blades. Said he found them in the desert, and that they may be artifacts. Now, I’m no treasure hunter, so I couldn’t offer him much, but he paid me handsomely for two of my finest castle forges, imported from Lissium. Then he asked me where he could find the library.” He pointed to a four-story stone tower supported by wooden beams, standing out against the skyline a few blocks away.

Sounds like Jiro to me. “Thank you for your time,” she said with a bow. Delphi wanted to pay him for his service, but she had forgotten all of her coin in her trunk aboard the ship, so she offered to share a joint she had stashed in her sock. Luckily for her, he was eager to oblige.

After chiefing the roll of sweetleaf, she promptly popped into the library, where the attendant at the counter recalled her quick encounter with the ex-sellsword. Jiro had inquired about a book on Phobosi culture, which he’d promised to return within the week. Yeah right, Delphi rolled her eyes. That must be his next stop, he was always fascinated with that damn pyramid of theirs.

Crunched for time, Delphi beat the pavement back to the Gluttonous Lass, beating the few returning crewmen by mere minutes.

“Get them sails open and anchors up!” The Captain barked. “The sooner we be back on the friendly waters o’ the crimson sea, the better.”

Stealing a moment of the Captain’s time, she offered him some extra coin to allow her an hour on shore at Phobos to ‘look for something.’

“Eh, an hour for ye means two hours for me,” the Captain complained, “but yer coin is good aboard me vessel, so long as the price is right.”

It was not even midday when they pulled out of Sand Arbor’s docks, the Captain clearly weary of the Oasis’s charms. Delphi had no reason to lament their departure herself. The world’s easternmost settlement now held nothing but sour memories for her.

Her short adventure in the desert heat left her already exhausted body parched and drained of energy, so she returned below deck to join Mateo in the shade. Though she hadn’t been gone long, she was somewhat surprised to see him still pouring over the book. Significantly more pages had been turned since she’d left.

The boy reminded her so much of Jiro that it almost drove her insane. Delphi was still struggling to decide what she would do is she found Jiro in Phobos by the time she got there. Would she break down into tears for how much she’d missed him? Or would she strangle him for how broken he’d left her? Regardless… she told herself, all I want is the facts. If nothing else, I need closure. She had constantly been finding herself with more questions than answers; questions only Jiro could answer.

“We’re never going back to Lissium again, are we?” Mateo asked as Delphi entered her quarters. The boy closed the book and folded his hands on top of it.

“No…” she told him, faking a somber tone as she sat on her hammock. “Does that make you sad?”

“I don’t think so,” he frowned. “It’s just that… everything I can remember happened in Lissium.”

“Wait,” Delphi interrupted, elated. “Your memories are coming back?”

“A little. Just of my mother. She’s…” he sniffled, then regained his composure. “She was all I ever had. I can’t remember my father, but… I don’t think I ever had one. My mother never mentioned him. He could be a dead man for all I know.”

Delphi sighed, heartbroken by the young boy’s story. He stared at his feet. “I know how hard that can be. My mother never talked about my father either. I don’t even know his name. But I told myself if I ever met the man, I’d kill him. That’s how fucked up it left me, growing up without a father.” She didn’t bother watching her language around the boy, those kind of formalities long passed. “It’s why I spent so much time at home. It’s why I’ve spent my entire life latching onto men, men who make me feel safe.” Men like Jiro… she trailed off. Is it really that difficult for me to let go?

“Mateo, I’m not going to let you grow up to be as fucked up as I am,” Delphi resolved, right then and there. “I’m going to find you a family.”

The boy looked up from his shoes. “You would do that for me?”

Delphi smiled. “Maybe the world needs fewer people like me. Sometimes I can’t help but feel like I’m just a leech. I want to start making a difference in the world, and I can start right  here, with you.”

Tears in his eyes, Mateo got up from his barrel seat to embrace her. “You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met, miss Delphi,” he choked through sobs.

I can make a change, Delphi told herself as she stroked the boy’s charcoal colored hair. And I can do it without Jiro. I don’t need anybody but myself. She wouldn’t beg him to come back, if she found him. But her questions still needed answering, regardless of her feelings.

She spent the rest of the day relaxing in her hammock while Mateo finished his book. She felt herself drift off more than once, and couldn’t have said how much time had passed when the crew announced they’d be approaching Phobos soon. The sun was beginning to set, casting hues of red across the sky and long shadows across the ocean. Delphi was in the middle of preparing herself for departure once they reached the city, when a member of the crew came down and informed her that, unfortunately, they would be unable to dock in Phobos.

“Why not?” Delphi asked, distraught.

The crewman gulped. “You might want to come see for yourself.”

Sun setting in the west, the city of Phobos, nearly a mile from their ship, appeared to be engulfed in flames. Upon further inspection, Delphi could plainly see that it was no optical illusion. The old city burned brightly, its famous pyramid silhouetted against the blazing inferno. As the flames rose, she could have sworn she saw them turning black at the tips. Mateo had joined the crowd at the bow alongside the Captain, transfixed by the disaster.

“What in the hell?” Delphi cried.

“I wish I could tell ye, lass,” the Captain croaked. “It ain’t nothin’ pleasant, I can tell ye that much.”

What could have possibly… A thought flashed across Delphi’s mind. Jiro! She rushed below deck, grabbing her bow and quiver from the trunk in her quarters, returning within moments.

“Let me go ashore,” Delphi nocked an arrow to show she was determined. “I can handle myself.”

The Captain craned his neck around to look at her. “Ain’t gonna happen.”

“I’ll f*****g swim if I have to!” She screamed.

The Captain turned and walked down the deck toward her. “Ye don’t want to do that, girlie. I been all ‘round the world in this ship, an’ I know when somethin’ foul is afoot. Yer arrows won’t do diddly against nothin’ arcane.”

Delphi put her bow down, exasperated. “D****t,” she swore through gritted teeth.

“If ye want to go to Phobos so badly, I can drop ye off at Goldengate, an’ ye can hope to find what yer lookin’ for in the ashes. But for now, we keep full sail for the Free Realm. We’ll all be a whole lot safer there.”

Delphi could have cried. Every doubt she’d ever harbored had been quashed by the conflagration on the horizon. Magyk is back from the dead… What have you gotten yourself into, Jiro?